Weathering the Storm
by TheCaptainandThePostulant
Summary: It's the morning after Maria and Georg fled from Austria with their children and all nine of them are trying to come to terms with the fact that they're unable to return to their homeland and have to push through what the next few days bring with them. What will happen when they reach the border? Will the nine of them find happiness and settle down in Switzerland? Find out here! x
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, and welcome to "Weathering the Storm"! I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and the ones to come and that you'll review and follow so that you're notified whenever I upload another chapter. Love you all and happy reading :-)**

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Georg ran the back of his hand down his wife's cheek when he was lying in silence beside her in the cave that they and the children had come across in the mountains the previous evening, a sigh escaping his lungs as he watched her sleep in his arms with her head on his shoulder and her arm draped over his stomach as she anchored herself to him. He had given her his jacket to use as a blanket when they had settled down to sleep after ensuring that the children were content the night before - not caring that he would be cold as long as she would be warm - and he was glad to see that there was a look of peace on her face. There weren't words to express just how proud he was of her; just how invaluable her support had been before, during and after they had sung at the music festival. Even though Maria hated it when he gave her orders, she had accepted them when he had given them to she and their children last night and had been firm with their children if one of them had complained about anything. She was perfect.

Over the duration of their honeymoon he had thought that it had been impossible to love her more than he already had, but he had been proved wrong when she had come to join him on the stage when his confidence had failed him while singing Edelweiss at the music festival. His confidence had returned as soon as he had heard her voice as she had stepped out of the wings and walked over to him, and when she had slipped her hand into his and beckoned for their children to join them he had half expected his heart to burst with the love that he possessed for her. He ran the back of his hand down her cheek again while drawing her closer with the hand that was resting on her lower back through her jacket, his eyes falling closed as he pressed a kiss onto her temple. 'I love you.' He whispered while grazing her hairline with his nose before he drew back from her skin and settled down beside her again, his hold of her tightening when she made a quiet sound of complaint in her sleep and hid her face in the side of his neck.

As he laid in silence and listened to the sound of her and their children's snores filling the cave, he knew that he would have to wake them all soon so that they could move on. If he knew Zeller (and he did) then he knew that the man wouldn't give up until he found the nine of them. He also knew that - since he hadn't gone to Bremerhaven with him and he and Maria had fled with the children - all of them were at risk. If Zeller and his men found them then they would be separated. He didn't know if the children and Maria would be separated, but what he did know was that there was a high chance that the eight of them would be put into a concentration camp or somewhere just as horrific and the thought alone was enough to make his stomach turn. Deciding not to think about it as he knew that it would put him in a dark mood, he turned his head to the left before smiling at the sight of Gretl and Marta snuggled up to Friedrich. The two of them were sleeping on either side of him with his arms laced around both of their waists.

Just as he was proud of his wife for her strength and her support the previous evening, he was just as proud of their children. It had been clear that all seven of them had been terrified during the drive to the convent after they had finished their last number at the festival, and the sight of them sitting wide-eyed behind the crypts when they had been hiding and leaning to either side so that the Nazis' torches hadn't shone on them had killed him. He knew that if the seven of them hadn't had been as well-behaved as they had then their escape would have been ten times harder and so, now that he thought about it, the fact that they had managed to flee Salzburg last night was also thanks to _them._ When he turned his head to the right, in the direction of the opening of the cave, he saw that Liesl was sitting outside and staring out into the distance as she pulled blades of grass absentmindedly out of the mountain. He knew instantly that she still felt as though she was to blame for Rolfe finding them all at the convent last night.

Knowing that he needed to speak to her and put her mind at rest before the children and Maria woke and they had to move on, he lowered his gaze to his wife and began to ease her out of his embrace. 'Shh, sweetheart...' He soothed as she whimpered in her sleep while he cradled her head in his hand and lowered it down onto the bag that he had been using as a pillow the night before. Once she had settled down again and he had drawn his jacket further over her, he kissed her on the cheek before getting to his feet. He ran a hand through his hair as he walked out of the cave, his brow creasing as he stretched since his muscles were rather stiff after spending the night on the floor. It took him a few seconds to reach his eldest daughter and when Liesl looked up at him he offered her a smile. 'Room for me?' He raised his brow, Liesl nodding in response as she reciprocated his smile before he sat down next to her and the two of them looked out into the distance. 'Did you manage to get some rest last night?' He asked softly.

'A little.' She replied. 'Marta and Gretl woke me at one point though, saying that they needed to relieve themselves.'

The two of them chuckled together.

'You do know,' Georg slipped his arm around her waist before shifting closer to her, 'that you aren't to blame for a single thing that happened last night, don't you?'

Liesl kept silent for a moment before she allowed herself to lean against him and said: 'If I had kept quiet, Rolfe would never have found us.'

'He betrayed your trust, my darling, so you being shocked when you saw him last night doesn't surprise me.' He played with the curls that hung down her back, Liesl turning her head in his direction as there was a quizzical expression on her face.

'You knew?' She asked.

He nodded. 'On the day I returned from Vienna with the Baroness and your Uncle Max, I caught him throwing stones at your bedroom window.'

'Oh.' She rested her head on his shoulder. 'I thought that he was different, father. If I had known that he wasn't the person I thought he was at the time, I never would have had anything to- '

Georg shushed her before pressing his lips to the side of her head. 'I know.'

'I saw him yesterday afternoon.' She admitted after a few silent seconds had passed between them. 'We were talking and then he said something like "we make it our business to know everything about everybody". I didn't understand who "we" were then, but I know that he meant the Nazis now. I can't believe that I put you and everyone else in danger like that; I feel so stupid.' Georg sighed as he tightened his hold of her and pulled her closer to him, allowing her to nuzzle against the side of his neck for comfort.

'You aren't the one at fault.' He soothed. 'He's the one at fault for taking advantage of you and deceiving you.'

Liesl hummed. 'So...you and mother aren't upset with me?'

'Not at all.' He shook his head.

When she tilted her head back on his shoulder he gave her forehead a kiss before stroking her waist. 'I think I'm going to stop thinking about boys for now, but when I find one I want him to be just like you.' She told him as she snuggled into him.

'I can't say I'm displeased that you're going to stop thinking about them.' He chuckled. 'I want you to stay my little girl for as long as possible.'

She couldn't help but giggle. 'I'll always be your little girl, father, and I'll always love you more than I'll ever love the man I end up marrying.'

'I'm glad to hear it.' His heart swelled with love for her.

It was a few seconds later when the two of them heard footsteps behind them and looked over their shoulders to see who was approaching, smiles forming on their lips as they watched Gretl walk over to them while she rubbed her eyes.

'Liesl, I need the bathroom.' The five-year-old said, Liesl nodding before she turned back to her father.

'Thank you for cheering me up.' She smiled.

Georg gave her a kiss on the tip of her nose. 'It's my job, sweetheart.'

He unwound his arm from around her waist before standing with her and watching her take hold of Gretl's hand. 'Don't take her too far, will you?' He said as he watched her lead Gretl towards the thicket of trees.

'No, father.' She reassured him as she looked over her shoulder.

Once she and Gretl had entered the thicket of trees he turned to walk over to the cave and wake the rest of the family, smiling to himself as he thought about just how blessed he and Maria were to have a daughter like Liesl.

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It was a short time later when he and Maria were sat together in the cave with their children, his arm wrapped around her waist as his jacket was draped over her shoulders and the two of them watched the children entertain themselves while the rain came down outside. He had planned to carry on walking once Gretl had relieved herself and she and Liesl had returned to the cave, but just minutes after the girls had come back it had started to throw it down. Neither he nor Maria had wanted to risk one of the children getting sick by walking in the rain - especially since they were in the middle of nowhere and wouldn't be able to get a doctor to them - and so they had decided to just sit in the cave with them and wait for the rain to pass. When he felt Maria shift in his arms he turned his head in her direction before a crease formed in between his brows as he watched her open her bag and pull out a bottle of aspirin. 'Are you alright?' He caressed her waist as she opened the bottle. 'You aren't feeling unwell, are you?'

'I've just got a bit of a headache, that's all.' She reassured him with a shake of her head, her eyes drifting closed when he pressed the back of his free hand to her forehead.

He hummed as he ran the back of his hand down her cheek after checking her temperature. 'Your temperature's quite high as well. I think I'll keep an eye on you.'

Maria smiled before shifting closer to him. 'Do you have any water left in your hip flask?'

'I think so.' He kissed the side of her head before pulling out his hip flask and passing it to her so that she could use it to take her medication.

Once she had screwed the cap back onto the hip flask after swallowing the pills, she handed it back to him before resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his middle. She then gazed over at their children as the seven of them played and read quietly, her heart swelling as she realised just how blessed she was to have the title of their mother. Marta and Gretl were sat together and playing with the dolls that she and Georg had bought for them while in Paris, Brigitta and Louisa were sat reading the books that they had brought with them, Friedrich and Kurt were sat talking quietly and Liesl was sat lost in thought. She knew that Georg had had a talk with her earlier - he had told her that after waking her up - but it was obvious that she was still feeling a little low. 'Are you sure that Liesl's okay?' She inquired when she tilted her head back against her husband's shoulder in order to look up into his eyes, Georg nodding in response before he gave her cheek a stroke with the backs of his fingers.

'She will be.' He told her. 'Just give her time.'

She allowed him to leave a soft kiss on her lips before his hold of her tightened and she snuggled further into him. 'Why don't you try and get some more sleep? You seem exhausted.' He said as he ran his hand over her hair.

'Would you mind if I did?' She replied.

'Not at all.' He shook his head. 'You've only had six hours of sleep since we left Paris, darling, and you're not going to start feeling any better until you let yourself get some rest.'

She knew that he was right. He always was. 'Will you hold me?' She asked him.

'Come here.' He allowed her to move into his lap after he had kissed her forehead. Once she had gotten herself comfortable and he had removed his jacket from around her shoulders to place it over her he wrapped his arms back around her, Maria releasing a gentle sigh as she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. 'Do you want me to wake you when the rain stops?' His lips brushed her hair while he spoke to her, a smile spreading across his features when she nodded against his chest in response. 'I love you, Maria.' He admitted as he leaned back against the wall of the cave after giving the top of her head a kiss, Maria opening her eyes and tilting her head back on his chest for just a moment in order to look up at him and offer him a charming smile.

'I love you too.' She reached up to trace his jawline with her fingers before a wave of happiness washed over her when he grazed his nose against hers.

When he allowed her to snuggle against him again she closed her eyes and curled her fingers into his shirt, his arms holding her against him as she buried her nose in his chest and breathed in his scent. Before the two of them had expressed their love for one another in the gazebo on the night of her return to the villa, she had never given much thought to how it would feel to be wrapped in the arms of a man. She had never given much thought to what it would be like to wake up with her head pillowed on a man's chest or to have a man hold her in the aftermath of lovemaking either, but now she couldn't imagine not being held in Georg's arms anymore. Over the duration of their honeymoon, she had gotten so used to sleeping in her husband's arms that she found it impossible to drift off if she wasn't in them. She adored the feeling of his breath on the back of her neck; the sensation of his fingers drawing circles onto her stomach, and she was positive that she was never going to stop adoring those little things.

It was the little things that she loved the most.

* * *

'I'm sorry.' She sighed as she leaned back against the trunk of the tree that she was sat in the shade of later that morning and met her husband's gaze. 'I feel as though I'm being nothing but a burden on you.'

'That couldn't be farther from the truth.' Georg soothed, covering her hands with one of his own in her lap and giving them a tender squeeze. 'You're not well, darling, you can't help that.'

She nodded before lifting his hip flask to her lips and taking another little sip of the water to rid her mouth of the taste of vomit.

_'What on earth is wrong with me?' _She asked herself as she looked over at her children who were sitting together, talking.

The feeling of Georg sliding his arm around her shoulders after sitting down behind her made her smile, her eyes falling closed when she shifted further into his warmth and rested her head on his shoulder before he left a kiss on her hairline. As she sat in his embrace she could feel her stomach churning once again and prayed that she didn't vomit again, her forehead puckering as she fought against the urge to heave. The nausea had started a couple of days before she and Georg had left Paris to return home to their children, but she had just thought that something she had eaten hadn't agreed with her and that it would pass. On their last afternoon in Paris she had gone to see the doctor when her husband had advised her to after the nauseousness hadn't dissipated, and what doctor Angelle had suggested to her had left her speechless for the first time in her life.

He had suggested that she might have been pregnant.

Out of all of the things that she had believed to be causing her to feel nauseous, being with child hadn't been one of them. She had initially believed that it had been too early on in their marriage for her to get pregnant but, when she had given it more thought whilst getting ready for dinner that evening, she had realised that the notion of her being with child hadn't been as far-fetched as she had thought. It wasn't as though she and Georg had been abstinent during their honeymoon - there had been days where the two of them hadn't even left their suite - and so there had been every possibility. She had planned to go and see doctor Angelle again so that he could do a test which would confirm if she was pregnant or not, but, before she had had the chance to do so, she and her husband had read about the Anschluss in the newspaper and had left Paris instantly.

There had been times when the two of them had fallen into silence on the train-ride home and when those moments of silence had occurred she had thought about going to see a doctor once they had gotten back, yet, less than an hour after their return, Georg had received that blasted telegram. She longed to find out for certain if she was expecting Georg's child or not, but she knew that that would have to wait until their arrival in Switzerland and the suspense was killing her. 'Come back to me, sweetheart.' The sound of her husband whispering in her ear brought her out of her thoughts after a time and she tilted her head back on his shoulder, a gentle smile appearing on her lips as she looked up at him. 'I lost you for a while, there.' Georg said before lifting his hand to her face and drawing the back of it down her cheek, unconditional love for her in his eyes.

'So much has happened over the last couple of days.' She sighed while removing a piece of lint from his shirt. 'It's a lot to take in.'

'I know.' He nuzzled her hair. 'I know it is, but you're doing so well and I'm so proud of you.'

She smiled as she slipped her hand through the opening of his jacket and curled her fingers into his shirt. 'I'm just glad that your plan worked and that we're still together. I couldn't bear it if I lost you and the children.'

A shudder coursed through Georg at the mere thought of being separated from Maria or their children. 'I would have to be dead and buried before I let anyone hurt the eight of you or before I left you all.'

'Well, you could have gotten yourself killed last night.' She reminded him when she looked up into his eyes again, her love for him deepening as she brought her hand out from within his jacket and ran her fingers along the line of his jaw. 'Promise me something?' She asked as her gaze flicked between his and his lips, a smile gracing her features when he hummed. 'Promise me that you won't put yourself in a position like that again.'

Georg nodded before pressing his lips against the centre of her forehead. 'I promise you, my love.' He pressed his forehead against hers before stroking the bridge of her nose with the tip of his own. 'With all my heart.'

'You can be an idiot sometimes and you can be a little hot-tempered, but you mean the world to me.' She told him.

He chuckled in response as he ran his hand over her hair. 'And you can be outspoken and a minx at the best of times, but you mean the world to me too.'

The two of them laughed together before he brought his hand to her cheek and traced her cheekbone with the pad of his thumb, Maria opening her eyes so that she could look into his. She allowed him to slip his fingers into her hair after a couple of seconds before he drew her closer to him, her eyes drifting closed again before she parted her lips and sighed when he caught her in a languid kiss. Their kiss was tender yet chaste at the same time since their children were sitting a short distance away from them, Maria bringing her hand to rest on the side of his neck as she shifted closer to him before leaning into him a little. The two of them knew that they would have to remain abstinent until their arrival in Switzerland, which was going to be hard after their long month of passion in Paris, but as long as they could still have moments like this they would be content.

When their kiss reached a natural conclusion after a couple of minutes, Maria rested her head on her husband's chest and burrowed underneath his chin, her eyes closing while she listened to the sound of his heartbeat. 'You let me know when you're feeling strong enough to start walking again, alright?' Georg said to her as he raked his fingers through her hair and settled back against the trunk of the tree again, his gaze fixed on her.

'Alright.' She echoed before sinking into him when he wrapped an arm around her. 'I love you.'

'And I love you.' He reassured her. 'Just as much.'

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_'Blinke, blinke, kleiner Stern, wie bist du doch so wundersam...' _Maria brushed her fingers against the curls that hung down Gretl's back as she came to the end of the lullabye that she was singing to her while lying next to her that night, her voice soft as she looked into her face and saw that she was beginning to give into the pull of slumber. The five-year-old's eyes were half-lidded now and she was sucking on her thumb, hiccups still escaping her in result to the cries that she had let out when she had woken from her nightmare a little while earlier. She ran the back of her hand down her daughter's cheek when she cuddled up to her after a couple of seconds, her lips finding her temple before she settled down beside her again. 'Are you warm enough, sweet pea?' She raised her brow while drawing her travel-cloak further over her little frame, Gretl nodding in reply.

'Mother?' Gretl whispered after a time.

'Yes?' Maria replied.

'When will we reach Aunt Hede's villa? I don't like sleeping outside.' The five-year-old admitted.

Maria tightened her hold of her. 'Well, your father says that we should reach the Swiss border in the next day or two if we don't stop walking too much.'

'Will Aunt Hede's children like me?' Gretl asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

'Aunt Hede's children are going to _love you, _I just know it.' Maria smiled. 'Your father told me that she had a baby a couple of months ago. You'll enjoy playing with him, won't you?'

Gretl smiled with a sparkle in her eyes.

'You need to get some sleep now though, darling, because otherwise you're going to be far too tired to go anywhere in the morning.' Maria tucked one of her curls back behind her ear.

'You won't let me go, will you, mother?' Gretl asked.

Maria shook her head before kissing her on the nose. 'Not for a moment, I swear.'

'Goodnight.' Gretl yawned before pressing her face into her neck and settling down. 'I hope you sleep well.'

'I hope you sleep well too, Gretl.' Maria whispered before stroking her hair again and smiling when she was able to tell that her little girl was drifting off in her arms.

She closed her eyes after a couple of minutes and buried her nose in Gretl's hair before trying to fall asleep herself, but her eyes fluttered open again when she heard the sound of footsteps. It didn't take long for her to realise that it was just Georg and Kurt returning to their spot after relieving themselves and so she closed her eyes again, her love for her husband deepening when she heard him tell Kurt to get some rest and that he loved him. He had come so far since their argument that summer and she couldn't have been more proud of him if she tried. She was aware of Georg lying down beside her a couple of minutes later and she turned onto her back when he covered her with his jacket, shushing Gretl when she whimpered in her sleep at the change of positions. 'You're going to freeze if you don't have something to cover yourself with.' She told him softly.

'I'd rather you be warm than me.' He admitted before stroking her face. 'Is she alright?'

'She had a nightmare and so I told her that she could come and sleep next to us tonight so that she feels a little safer.' She explained. 'I think she'll sleep through the night now.'

Georg gave her a smile of pride. 'You are the perfect mother.'

'There's no such thing.' She tutted with a loving roll of her eyes. 'I just did what any other mother would do for their daughter.'

'Nevertheless,' He placed a kiss on her lips before settling down next to her, 'I am so proud of you.'

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence after sharing a smile, Maria keeping a close eye on Gretl while Georg stroked her hair.

'We should get some sleep ourselves.' She pointed out after a couple of minutes. 'We aren't going to be of any use to the children if we're exhausted in the morning.'

Georg nodded before bringing his hand to his lips to stifle a yawn. 'Give Gretl to me so that I can hold the two of you.' He instructed.

The two of them moved Gretl carefully so that she didn't stir and once she was settled on the other side of her father with her travel-cloak over her, Maria settled down next to him and allowed her head to be cushioned by his shoulder. 'I feel awful taking your jacket from you.' She admitted while snuggling into him and tangling her leg with his, Georg shaking his head before he pressed his lips to her brow in the most languorous kiss.

'Don't.' He whispered. 'I've slept outside before.'

Maria's brow furrowed. 'You have?'

'Mmm hmm.' He replied. 'Agathe made me sleep out on the garden terrace one night when she was nearing the end of her pregnancy with Brigitta because she saw a compliment that I gave her as an insult.'

She giggled in response. 'I'm guessing she had strong hormones?'

'The strongest.' He chuckled. 'It wasn't too bad, if I'm honest, until Friedrich and Louisa came outside the next morning and gave me _quite _the wake-up call.'

Maria sighed happily as she sank into his embrace. 'I've always wondered what the eldest ones were like when they were young.'

'They were little terrors that had their mother wrapped around their little fingers.' He told her. 'Especially Kurt.'

'I'm guessing Kurt managed to get treats out of Agathe whenever he wanted them?' She laughed.

Georg turned his head towards her. 'However did you guess?' He smirked.

'What can I say? I'm a women of hidden talents.' She ran a hand across his chest before pressing her lips against his. 'You make me so happy, you know.'

'I'm glad.' He sighed. 'I hope to do so for the rest of my life.'

She stroked her fingers against the greying hair at his temples. 'We really need to get some sleep now. It must be past midnight.'

'It won't be long now.' He told her once she had snuggled into him again and hid her face in his neck. 'Once we've spent a few weeks with Hede we can go looking for a villa of our own and then start settling down.'

'That's all I want.' She whispered as she began to drift off.

Georg smiled as he nuzzled her hair with his lips. 'Go to sleep, Maria.'

'I am.' She reassured him. 'Goodnight.'

'Goodnight, mein schatz...' He said. 'Sleep well.'

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**A/N: So, I hope that you all enjoyed that and that you'll consider leaving a review! I know that most of the vT children weren't in this chapter, but I promise you that they'll come into it more in the upcoming ones. I hope you'll all come back for the next chapter when it's uploaded and I'll see you soon :-) x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Welcome to chapter two! I want to thank those of you who reviewed the first chapter and said such lovely things and also to those of you who read and followed and favourited! I hope that you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the first and I hope you stick with this fic :-) x**

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The feeling of her husband's lips against her temple and his fingertips moving her hair back behind her ear was what brought Maria out of her light slumber the next morning, a gentle murmur of discontentment leaving her as she stirred before her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him. 'Good morning.' He whispered whilst caressing her cheek with his hand.

'Mmm…' She hummed as she arched her back a little to stretch the stiffened muscles, 'good morning.' Once Georg had leaned down to kiss her lips, she sat up beside him and ran her hand through her hair before frowning when she noted that the children weren't with them. 'Where are the children?' She asked when she looked at him as he slid an arm around her.

Georg pointed to the thicket of trees a short distance away from where they were sat, relief flooding through her when she was able to see the back of Louisa and Brigitta. 'Liesl came across a river when she went to the toilet earlier and when she came back I told her to take the others over to it so that they could freshen up a little.' He told her whilst holding her.

Maria nodded in response before shifting closer to him and snuggling up to him. 'You didn't have the best night, did you?' He caressed her waist through her jacket, a sigh leaving him when she shook her head. 'I'm starting to get worried about you, sweetheart, you're not well at all and we've still got miles to walk before we even get close to the border.' He frowned.

'I don't want you to be worried about me.' She replied after tilting her head back against his shoulder and looking into his eyes, her lips curling up into a small smile as she smoothed her hand over his chest. 'You have enough to be worried about as it is; you don't need to be worried about me as well. Besides, I'm sure it's just an upset stomach or something I ate.'

Georg looked at her for a moment before reaching up to run his hand over her hair. 'It could also be…something else.' He replied, Maria knowing exactly what he was referring to by the look in his eyes. 'You went to see the doctor the afternoon before we came home from Paris, didn't you? Did he tell you what he believed was causing your nausea?' He pulled her close.

'He…he said that there was a _chance_ that I might be pregnant.' She told him.

They gazed at one another in silence for a few moments. 'Why didn't you tell me?' He asked.

'I didn't think it was possible for me to fall pregnant so early on in our marriage; we've only been husband and wife for a month-or-so, haven't we? Then, when we were changing to go out for dinner that night, I realised that time has nothing to do with it and that there _was_ a chance like he had said.' She stroked his face. 'I wanted to go back to find out for certain.'

'Why didn't you?' He raised his brow.

She sighed and leaned into him. 'We read about the Anschluss the next morning, remember? We left so soon that there wasn't time to make an appointment. When we were on the train, I said to myself that I would make an appointment with our doctor once we had gotten back, but then you opened that telegram and there wasn't time for me to go and visit _him, _either.'

'So, you still don't know if you're pregnant or not.' He massaged her waist.

She shook her head. 'I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want to get your hopes up.'

'I know; it's alright.' He kissed the side of her head. 'I'll tell you what we'll do. Once we reach Switzerland and once we've gotten settled at Hede's, we'll go and see the doctor so that he can examine you and find out for certain if you're pregnant or not.' Maria nodded, humming in agreement. 'For now though, let's just say that you aren't so we don't get our hopes up.'

'I love you.' She smiled.

Georg traced the line of her jaw with his fingertips before kissing her nose. 'I love you too.'

It was a few minutes later when the children came back to their little camp, Gretl and Marta sitting down with their parents while the older five went back to where they had slept the night before. 'Mother, is there anything that we can have for breakfast?' Marta asked gently.

'I think the Reverend Mother put a few things for us to eat in the bag that she left in the car. Why don't you have a look and see if there's anything that you want?' Maria suggested, the seven-year-old nodding before she crawled over to the bag behind her mother and began to look inside. 'Do you want to eat something, lovely?' Maria asked when she looked at Gretl.

Her youngest daughter shook her head in response before crawling around to the other side of her father and leaning against him, Georg chuckling as he kissed her head and wrapped his arm around her. 'You're still a little tired, aren't you?' He asked as he gazed down at her.

'Mmm hmm.' Gretl nodded against his chest.

Her parents shared a smile before Marta came out from behind her mother and Maria let her crawl into her lap. Once her daughter was settled against her chest, she watched her begin to eat the crackers that she had taken from the bag. 'You should get something eaten before we start walking again, as well.' She said as she looked at her husband again after a while.

'I'll be alright.' Georg shook his head.

'I wasn't asking.' She smirked. 'You have so much to do and you won't be able to do it if you don't eat. I'm your wife now and I won't have anyone saying that I don't take care of you.'

Georg rolled his eyes good-naturedly in response before she pecked at his cheek and turned to get the bag. After looking inside of it for a couple of seconds, she pulled out a pear and handed it to him before getting an apple out for herself and closing the bag again. When she glanced over at her five eldest children she smiled at seeing them eating their own snacks.

None of them really spoke as they ate their breakfast and once they had finished they began to pack everything up. It wasn't long until all nine of them were ready to start walking once again, but before they left the camp Maria turned to the children and said to them: 'Now, do you all remember what your father and I told you?' The children all nodded their response.

'Do you all remember the names we assigned you?' Georg added on. 'Tell us what they were.'

'Agathe.'

'Rupert.'

'Maria.'

'Werner.'

'Hedwig.'

'Johanna.'

'Martina.'

'Excellent.' Georg said once the children had told him the false identities that they had been given before leaving Salzburg. 'Now, if anyone stops us and asks us who we are and where we're going, let your mother and I deal with it. I only want you all to speak if someone asks you what your names are, is that clear?' The children nodded at him in unison once again.

He then turned to Gretl before lowering himself down and allowing her to climb up onto his back, her arms lacing around his neck as she wrapped her legs around his waist and he got to his feet again. He then began to walk, Maria waiting until the older children were walking behind him before she began to lead Marta by the hand. 'Mother?' Marta glanced up at her.

'Yes, poppet?' Maria smiled.

'Will we live with Aunt Hede forever?' Marta asked.

Maria shook her head. 'Not forever, no, but I think we'll be staying with her for a few months at least. Your father and I are going to start looking for a villa of our own once we've sorted things out and then, when it's decorated and furnished, we'll go to live there.' She explained.

'Will we still sing together in Switzerland and will we still go for picnics?' Marta asked. 'I like doing those things with you and father and the others, mother, and I don't want it to stop.'

Maria gave her hand a squeeze. 'Of course, we will, and a lot of other things too.' Maria said.

'Mother?' Marta said again after the two of them had walked in silence for a few minutes.

Maria hummed.

'Will you have a baby one day?' She asked.

Maria looked at her for a second. 'Would you like me to have a baby?'

'Yep.' Marta nodded.

'Well, when we're in Switzerland I'll speak to your father about it.' Maria told her.

'Why do you have to speak to father about it?' Marta inquired.

Maria thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to explain it as simply as possible. 'Well, darling, when a married woman wants to have a baby she needs to make sure that her husband wants one too. It's a decision that the two of them make together and so, when I speak to your father and tell him that I want a baby, if he wants to have a baby too, we will.'

'I hope that father _does_ want to have a baby.' Marta smiled. 'Babies are so tiny and sweet!'

Maria couldn't help but giggle. 'Oh, Marta, I do love you.'

'I love you too.' Marta reassured her. 'You're the best mother in the world.'

Maria's heart swelled at those words as she and her daughter continued to walk together.

Ever since she had married Georg she had longed to be a good mother to the children and to have them tell their friends that they were proud to have her as their mother, and now that Marta had just said that to her, she could see that she was going the right way about things.

She knew that she had nothing to be worried about.

* * *

'Mother, my legs are hurting.'

'Father, I'm getting tired.'

'Mother, I need to go to the toilet.'

'Father, can we stop now?'

At either end of the line, Georg and Maria sighed in unison. It had been about two-and-a-half hours since they and the children had left the camp that they had made the evening before, and for the last fifteen minutes the younger ones had done nothing but complain. Maria and Georg knew that the three of them were in discomfort and wanted to have a break, but they also knew that if they rested for too long they wouldn't get to the mountain-top by nightfall.

Maria lowered her gaze to Marta when she realised that – even though she was walking quite slow – she was struggling to keep up with her, and sighed at the fatigue that she saw in her eyes. 'Oh, poppet, would you like me to pick you up?' She asked her, stopping for a moment.

'Yes, please.' The seven-year-old nodded before her mother lifted her up onto her hip.

She rested her head down on her mother's shoulder once she had laced her legs around her and put her arms around her neck, her eyes falling closed when her mother pressed a kiss onto her forehead. 'Is that a little better?' Maria smiled at her when she began to walk again.

Marta nodded against her neck before lifting her head off of her shoulder to give her a peck on the cheek, her eyes falling closed again when she laid her head back down and cuddled up to her. After walking behind her husband and children for a couple more minutes, Maria saw Georg stop and turn back before gesturing with his eyes to something in front of him.

When she craned her neck in order to see what it was that he had been gesturing to, she felt her heart begin to race. There was a small house a little way ahead with a woman taking a drag of a cigarette as she stood in its doorway. When Maria met Georg's gaze again she gave him a nod, knowing that the two of them would have to think of something to say to her.

It was a few minutes later when they neared the house and – as the two of them had thought – the woman began to approach them and their children. 'Good afternoon.' She gave them a smile after taking one last drag of her cigarette, dropping it on the ground and using the toe of her shoe to stub it out. Georg reciprocated her smile when Maria came to stand with him. 'I couldn't help but notice that the nine of you seem to look a bit…lost.' She admitted softly.

'We – my wife and children and I – are on our way to visit a relative who has fallen ill and we took a wrong turn a little while back, but I believe we're on the right track now.' He replied.

'How long have you been walking for? Your little ones look exhausted.' The woman told him.

'We've been walking for a few hours now, but we don't have much longer to go.' Maria said.

The woman turned her head in Maria's direction before offering her a smile. 'You all seem a little worn out. Would you like to come inside and rest up for a while? I could make some tea and find some biscuits for the little ones.' Maria and Georg turned to look at each other for a couple of moments, uncertainty evident in their eyes. Could they trust this woman?

When Maria looked at her children she was able to see the hunger and the fatigue sparkling in their own eyes and even though the sight broke her heart, something inside of her was screaming at her that it would be a mistake to take up the woman's offer and so she placed her hand on her husband's arm and readjusted Marta on her hip before saying: 'Thank you for your offer, but we must be at my mother-in-law's before nightfall.' She explained to her.

The woman nodded. 'I understand. I hope that your mother-in-law recovers soon, Mrs…'

'Wagner.' Maria replied. 'Lena Wagner.'

'Mrs. Wagner.' The woman smiled. 'Now, I'll let you all be on your way.'

Maria and Georg watched the woman turn on her heel and walk back towards her house, the two of them looking into one another's eyes again once she had entered and shut the door after her. 'We need to be far more vigilant now.' Georg said to both her and to their children. 'We don't know who knows about us or who's working for Zeller, so we have to be careful.'

The eight of them nodded before Georg continued to walk and the children began to follow him once again, Maria's heart sinking within her chest as she glanced at the house whilst walking behind their children. She was unsure as to why, but she had such an awful feeling.

* * *

After watching the family of nine start to walk further up the mountain through the window in her sitting room, the woman walked over to her telephone before lifting the receiver to her ear and dialling a number. It rang out for a while before – at last – someone picked up.

'Yes?' The gruff voice on the other end of the line said.

'Did you say that the family consisted of seven children and their parents?' She inquired.

'Affirmative.' The man replied.

'Then I've just seen them.' She told him. 'The von Trapp's are heading for the Swiss border.'

* * *

'You're quiet, tonight.' The sound of Georg's voice made Maria jump as it brought her out of her thoughts when she was sat watching the fire that he had managed to build and light in their camp that evening, her lips curving up into a gentle smile when she glanced up at him.

'Am I?' She asked when he lowered himself down to sit beside her, a sigh escaping her lungs as he took of his jacket before he draped it over her shoulders and shifted closer to her. 'I don't mean to be; I've just been thinking.' Georg nodded as he put his arm around her waist.

After kissing the side of her head he nuzzled her hair with his nose. 'About that woman?'

'When she asked if we wanted to go in for a rest, something screamed at me – and I mean it _screamed at me, _Georg - to not step foot inside that house. I've never experienced such a terrible feeling before; it made me feel sick to my stomach.' She brought her head to rest on his shoulder before snuggling into his warmth and wrapping her arms around his waist.

'I had a bad feeling about her too, but then I realised that we're hours away from Salzburg.' He reminded her. 'I doubt she knows anything about the nine of us or what's happened.'

Maria tilted her head back on his shoulder to look up at him. 'Really?'

'Mmm hmm.' He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. 'The last thing that I want is you worrying yourself, especially since there's a chance that you could be pregnant with our baby. I don't want you feeling as though you're unsafe or that anyone is going to hurt you, because you have me and I will never let anyone lay a hand on you or our children, my love.'

The two of them shared a smile before he lowered his head a little to graze the bridge of her nose with the tip of his, his hand coming to settle on her hip when he placed his lips on her own after a few seconds. The first kiss that they shared was soft and over almost as soon as it had started, but when they parted and their eyes met they couldn't resist leaning back in.

Maria reached up to rest her hand on the side of his neck when their lips met again, a gentle sigh escaping her as she was able to feel him massaging her waist through her jumper and she stroked the underside of his jaw with her thumb. She felt her heart flutter when he gave her bottom lip a swipe with his tongue, her fingers stroking his hair as she parted her lips.

Their tongues danced together with ease as the two of them kissed under the stars and their children slept nearby, the crackling and spitting from the fire one of the only sounds to be heard as they held one another close. When Georg pulled back from her and brought his lips to her neck, she nuzzled her nose against his shoulder and curled her fingers into his hair.

'Georg, darling?' She whispered into his ear as he kissed up and down her neck.

'Mmph?' He murmured.

'As lovely as this is,' She eased him back from her, 'we need to lie down and get some sleep.'

Georg sighed as he looked at her. 'I miss it, you know.'

'I know.' She giggled. 'I miss it too, but it's not forever. It's just for the next couple of days.'

He ran his hand over her hair before leaning in for one more kiss. 'As long as I'm allowed to hold you in my arms every night, I'm content.' He told her after pulling back to look at her.

'Come on,' She stroked his arm, 'let's put this fire out and get to bed.'

It didn't take long for them to put out the fire and make themselves comfortable near their children, Maria's head cushioned on his chest while he held her near and the two of them listened to the sounds of the night. 'I love you, Maria.' She heard him whisper into her hair.

'I love you too.' She reassured him before snuggling further into him. 'Goodnight, Georg.'

'Goodnight, sweetheart.' He whispered. 'Sleep well.'

* * *

It was the early hours of the next morning when the urge to relieve herself woke Maria up, a sigh escaping her as she knew that she was going to have to leave her husband's arms and go off into the trees to do so. After lying beside Georg for a few more minutes she eased his arm from around her middle and pushed herself up into a sitting position before yawning.

She then turned in place before going into the bag that the Reverend Mother had left for the family in the trunk of the caretaker's car and pulling out the flashlight, a smile forming on her lips when she felt a tender hand running up and down the length of her back. 'What are you doing?' Georg asked her, his voice rough with sleep when she turned back to face him.

'Nature calls.' She replied before leaning down to give him a kiss on the forehead.

'Don't be long,' He told her, 'and don't go too far.'

She loved how protective he was of her. 'I won't. I'll be back soon.'

Georg then watched her get to her feet before she left their camp and began to walk towards the thicket of trees, a yawn leaving him as he propped himself up on one hand and ran the other through his hair. Words couldn't describe how deep his love was for her. He had never loved anyone as much as he loved her, not even…not even Agathe. She was just so perfect.

Once she had entered the thicket of trees he laid back down and got comfortable, sighing as he waited for her to return to their camp. He knew that the nine of them would make it to the Swiss border by early evening the following day if they didn't keep on taking breaks, and he had never been more relieved about anything. Switzerland was so close he could taste it.

He couldn't wait to sleep in a proper bed; to eat a proper meal and to know that his wife and children were safe and warm. Even though he allowed Maria to use his jacket as a quilt and even though she tried her hardest not to shiver when they laid together at night, he was able to tell that she was cold and he hated it. It pained him to know that his wife was suffering.

She never complained about it though, and he was so proud of her for that.

After several minutes of lying in silence and staring at the sky, Maria still hadn't gotten back to their camp and a crease formed in between his brows. Surely, it didn't take that long for someone to relieve themselves? He decided to lie and wait for a few minutes longer to see if she was just dallying (as she was prone to doing) but when she still hadn't come back after five minutes, he decided that it was time to go and search for her and so he began to sit up.

That was when he heard a sound that made his blood run cold.

It was a scream of terror coming from within the thicket of trees.

It wasn't just any scream of terror, however.

It was Maria's…

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading and please review to let me know what you thought!**

**So, what's happened to Maria...? Come back when I upload chapter three to find out! See you soon :-) x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Chapter three is here! Happy reading :-)**

* * *

It was a few hours later, in a run-down shack that was situated deep within a thicket of trees a considerable distance away from the Swiss border, when Maria was asleep on a bed with none other than Herr Zeller and one of his men watching her. 'What exactly are you planning on doing with her, Sir?' Tobias asked when he turned his head in the Gauleiter's direction.

'I'll tell you what I'm planning on doing with her.' Zeller replied. 'Absolutely nothing.'

Tobias' brow furrowed. 'I'm afraid I don't understand.'

'It's not _her _I want, it's the Captain.' Zeller told him after sighing. 'That man is obsessed with her and – once I find him again – I'm going to make it clear to him that he either accepts his position in the Third Reich or we take her back to Austria. It's obvious that her safety means more to him than his own, so I don't doubt that he'll do as he's told this time.' He admitted.

Tobias nodded before looking down at Maria again and reaching out to give her cheek a soft stroke with the back of his hand. 'She's stunning…' He breathed with a shake of his head.

'Each to his own.' Zeller replied. 'Now, I shall go and look for the Captain and you shall sit in that chair and wait for the sedative to wear off and for her to come round. When she does, you let her have whatever she asks for, understand?' He growled, raising his brow at Tobias.

'Understood, Sir.' The young soldier reassured him.

Zeller hummed in response. 'If she says anything out of turn, you remind her of her place.'

Tobias felt his heart sink as he knew what the Gauleiter meant. 'Yes, Sir.' He said softly.

Zeller then patted him on the shoulder and stepped past him before opening the door to the shack and exiting, Tobias sighing once he was alone with Maria and he looked at her again. No matter what Herr Zeller said; even if she did speak out of turn when she woke up, he just wouldn't be able to bring himself to beat her. He had been raised to never hurt a woman.

As he watched her sleep on the bed in front of him; as he watched her dark eyelashes flutter against her cheeks and her chest rise and fall with each breath that she took, he started to realise just how beautiful she truly was. There wasn't the slightest mark on her face and her features were so soft. It didn't surprise him at all that her husband was besotted with her.

When he heard her whimper in her sleep a few minutes later, a sign that the sedative that he had seen Zeller give her a few hours earlier was wearing off, he ran his hand over her hair several times whilst shushing her. She settled back down again after a time and before going over to the chair by the door he pulled the moth-eaten blanket up over her perfect frame.

He was able to hear her snoring and murmuring in her sleep as he sat in the chair, and felt a pang of guilt hit him as he thought about how he had practically ripped her away from her husband and children just hours earlier. He had joined Zeller in the hope that it would force him to mature, but he realised now that all he was doing was ruining lives and he hated it.

The thing that was controlling him, however, was fear.

He knew that if he tried to back out then Zeller would force him to pay the price.

He knew that he would be making trouble for himself and the thought of that terrified him.

No, he had to do this.

There was no other option.

* * *

Georg felt numb as he stared out into the distance.

How on earth could this had happened?

Before he and Maria had gotten married he had promised the Mother Abbess that, no matter what occurred, he would protect her and now he had gone and broken that promise to her.

He knew now that he should have gone with her when she had gotten up to go into the trees to relieve herself earlier. In his half-asleep state he had told himself that she hadn't needed him to go with her and that she would be fine, but now he hated himself for not walking her to the thicket of trees and waiting at the entrance of them for her. All of this was his fault.

She hadn't left his mind since he had heard her scream of terror. Even when he had returned to the children after going to look for her and being unsuccessful, he had been thinking of her only. He didn't know who had taken her, but he prayed with all his might that whoever it was hadn't harmed her. She was so innocent; so perfect and deserved nothing but respect.

The feeling of a hand on the centre of his back made him jump after a time before he forced himself to smile when he turned his head and met Liesl's gaze. He was able to see the tears in her eyes and the stains on her cheeks from ones that had already fallen, and a gentle sigh left him as he slid an arm around her waist in order to hold her close. 'Father?' She sniffed.

'Yes, mein schatz?' He replied before dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

'We will find mother, won't we?' She asked him as she wrapped her arms around his middle.

Georg closed his eyes and breathed in her natural scent through her hair. 'Of course.'

'But…' She tilted her head back on his chest, 'but how do you know?'

He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers before saying: 'Because we're not going to stop looking for her until we do.' The two of them shared a smile before she sniffed again.

'Do you think she's scared? Do…do you think she's hurt?' Her eyes burned with gentle tears.

Georg felt his heart break at the tremble in her voice. 'Oh, my darling, come here.' He said to her before turning to wrap her in his arms properly, his hand cradling the back of her head against his chest whilst she sobbed into his shirt and clung to him. 'You know, as the others and I do, that your mother is much stronger and feistier than she looks.' He reminded her.

Liesl nodded through her tears.

'She's going to be just fine, Liesl, you'll see.' He stroked her hair.

'You don't know that!' She told him. 'You _can't_ know that!'

He cupped her face in his hands before moving her back from his chest and giving her a kiss on the forehead. 'I know I don't know for certain, my love, but we need to have some faith.'

'You sound like her.' She giggled tearfully. 'That's something she would say if she was here.'

'And she'd be right.' He wiped the tears from her cheeks. 'We need to stay strong for her.'

Liesl curled her fingers into the back of his shirt. 'You're right, but what do we all do now?'

'Well, if I'm correct,' He said as he stroked her back and looked in the direction which would lead them to the Swiss-Austrian border, 'the only place that your mother's captor could've taken her is into Switzerland. I was awake all night after she disappeared and so, if they had taken her anywhere other than there, I would have seen them go past.' He admitted softly.

It took Liesl less than a minute to figure out what he was thinking. 'We're going to Hede's?'

'Yes, we are.' He replied with a nod after meeting her gaze again. 'I'm going to take you all to her villa, tell her what's happened to your mother, freshen up and then I'm going to go out and drive around for a time to see if I can find her.' Liesl snuggled into his chest with a sigh.

'I'm coming with you.' She told him.

He shook his head before kissing her temple. 'No, you're not. I'm not putting you in danger.'

'Father, it will take less time to find mother if there are two of us,' She told him, 'and I won't be in danger because I'll have you there to protect me. Please let me come with you; I want to help you look for her.' When Georg glanced down at her again, he felt a powerful surge of pride for her course through his veins. It was clear to see that she wasn't a child anymore.

Standing before him now was a brave, strong young woman who he was incredibly proud of.

'Oh, alright,' He stroked a dark strand of hair back behind her ear, 'you can come with me.'

The smile that appeared on her lips made his heart swell. 'Thank you.' She pecked his cheek.

'Come on,' He caressed her face with the back of his hand, 'let's get the other rounded up so that we can start walking.' Liesl nodded her reply before he removed his arm from around her waist and the two of them began to walk over to the others, a sigh leaving him as he saw Marta wriggle out of Brigitta's embrace and run over to him as tears ran down her cheeks.

He sat down when she reached him and opened his arms to her before allowing her to climb into his lap and cuddle against his chest, her gentle sobs breaking his heart as she muffled them in his shirt. 'It's alright, my darling.' He soothed whilst rocking back and forth with her and smoothing the palm of his hand over her hair, his lips finding her temple as she cried.

'I want mother back.' She managed to choke out after a few seconds.

'I know; I know you do.' He stroked her back. 'We all do.'

It was a couple of minutes later when Marta stopped sobbing and tilted her head back on his chest, Georg smiling as he removed the tears from her cheeks with his fingers. 'We're going to find mother, father, aren't we?' She asked him in a little voice as she cuddled against him.

'Of course, we are.' He gave her a squeeze.

After wiping her cheeks with her hands, Marta settled against him. 'Who took mother?'

'I'm not sure, Marta,' He sighed, 'but when I find out, they're going to be in a load of trouble.'

Truth be told, he had his suspicions about who had abducted Maria. He knew that Zeller was still searching for him and he knew that the man had eyes everywhere. All morning, he had been thinking about that strange woman that he and Maria had met the morning before. She _had _seemed a little off and, now that he thought about it, she could have tipped Zeller off.

If it _was _Zeller and the Nazis who had abducted his wife, he knew that they hadn't taken her because they had wanted _her. _They had taken her because they wanted _him_ and knew that he would stop at nothing to find her. They were using Maria as bait to lure him to them, and it was working. The Nazis could do what they wanted with him, as long as she wasn't hurt.

'Father?' The sound of Brigitta's voice was what brought him out of his thoughts.

'Hmm?' He raised his brow.

'What are we going to do now? We can't just stay here.' She said.

He sighed as he looked at her and the rest of the children. 'I'm going to take you all to Hede. Once we're there, we're going to freshen up and I'm going to explain to her what's gone on. Then, you're all going to remain there whilst Liesl and I take the motor-car and see if we can locate your mother.' Brigitta nodded before wiping her tear-stained cheeks with her cloak.

'When are we leaving, father?' Friedrich asked him.

'Now.' Georg said. 'We're leaving right now.'

* * *

Back in the shack, Tobias was sat in silence in his chair as he looked at Maria. She was awake and sitting up on the bed now, her back pressed against the wall of the shack as she stared out of the window and held the blanket that she had been sleeping under around herself. He had asked if she had wanted some water when she had woken, but had received no answer.

He was able to tell that she was in need of a drink now, however, because she kept using her tongue to moisten her lips. After watching her for a few minutes more, he got up from his chair and walked over to the water-jug before pouring her a glass of water and turning back to her again. She was still ignoring him and looking out of the window, sorrow in her eyes.

There was that pang of guilt again.

After shaking his head in order to remind himself of the order that he had been given by the Gauleiter, he began to approach Maria before stopping in front of the bed and offering the glass of water to her. It was a few moments later when she looked at him, a sigh falling from her lips as she reached up to accept the glass from him. 'Danke.' She thanked him quietly.

'Bitte.' He replied before returning to his chair.

He watched her look at the glass of water for a couple of seconds before she took a slow sip, a smile forming on his lips when he saw her eyes fall closed and heard her groan of delight as the cool liquid slipped down her throat. It didn't take her long to finish the water and put the glass down, her hands going back to her lap when she looked out of the window again.

'Is there anything else I can get for you?' He asked after a time.

She scoffed. 'All I want is to go back to my husband and children.'

'I've been told that the reason you fled from Austria was because the Captain was too scared to join the Third Reich and because he didn't want to go off to Bremerhaven.' He admitted.

Maria turned her head in his direction and glared. 'I haven't had a proper night's rest in four days, I'm ill and you've just taken me from my family. Trust me, the last thing you want to do right now is tell me that you think my husband is a coward.' Tobias heard the light growl in her voice and made the decision not to go on talking about the Captain or their escape.

'How old are you?' She asked him.

'Seventeen.' He replied. 'I'll be eighteen in three days.'

She nodded. 'Let me ask you something. Do you think your mother would be proud of you?'

'Yes, she'd be proud that I'm standing up for what I believe in.' He retorted.

'I mean; do you think she would be proud of you for abducting me?' She sighed. 'For ripping apart my family and for breaking the hearts of my children? My two youngest children are seven and five years old and can't fall asleep if I'm not there to sing to them. I might be with child and you've torn me from my husband! I doubt _that_ would make your mother proud.'

Tobias was able to see the tears in her eyes and he felt his heart sink.

'I'm sorry.' He muttered after a few seconds had passed.

'If you're sorry, take me back to my husband!' She told him, a tear scrolling down her cheek.

'I can't.' He sighed. 'If it were up to me, I would, but I can't.'

Maria lowered her gaze to her lap at his words and swallowed the tears that were clawing up her throat, but was unable to stop the ones that were scrolling down her cheeks. She knew that Georg would be looking for her; she knew that he wasn't going to give up until he found her, but she prayed with all her heart that Herr Zeller didn't find he and the children first.

'_Please,' _She prayed silently, _'keep them safe.'_

* * *

It was late that afternoon – after several hours of walking and praying that Maria was alright – when Georg and the children reached Hede's villa at last. Gretl and Marta had both fallen asleep from exhaustion, the former perched on his hip whilst she snoozed with her head on his shoulder and the latter on Friedrich's hip as she did the same. They were both so tired.

After ringing the doorbell, he and the children waited in silence for a time before they heard the sound of heels approaching. It was a few seconds later when the door opened to reveal Hede and she offered the eight of them a warm smile, Georg watching her brow crease when she realised that Maria wasn't with them. 'I'll explain everything in a minute.' He admitted.

Hede nodded before stepping to one side and allowing them to enter the house, the children yawning and running their hands through their hair as the seven of them sported fatigued expressions. 'The bedroom that the seven of you will be sharing is the first room to your left after reaching the top of the staircase. Why don't you all head upstairs and get some rest?'

The children nodded and muttered a soft "thank you" to her before beginning to make their way upstairs, Liesl accepting Gretl from her father before she followed after them and left him and Hede alone. 'What's happened?' Hede inquired when she glanced up at her brother.

'Can we go and sit down before I tell you? I need a drink.' He ran a hand over his face.

Hede hummed in response before leading him into the drawing room and letting him take a seat on the settee whilst she walked over to the table and fixed him a glass of Scotch. She walked over to him again once she had poured it, Georg thanking her when she handed it to him before he threw it back and groaned. 'Someone's taken Maria.' He said, his voice soft.

'What?' Hede's eyes widened. 'What do you mean?'

'_I mean,'_ He looked at her, 'someone took her when she went to relieve herself in the night. I woke up when she was getting the flashlight out of her bag and she said that she would be back in a few minutes, but after ten minutes she still hadn't come back and I started to get a bit worried about her. I didn't think to go and check on her though, and then I…I heard…'

Hede rested her hand on his arm. 'You heard…?' She kept her voice gentle.

'I heard her scream.' He told her. 'I've never known a scream to turn my stomach before.'

Hede sighed and shifted closer to him. 'This isn't your fault, Georg.' She soothed.

'I shouldn't have let her go alone at an hour like that.' He growled. 'It was so idiotic of me.'

'Blaming yourself isn't going to help anyone.' She reminded him. 'This is the fault of Maria's captor and no-one else's. It's not hers and it's not yours, it's theirs.' She squeezed his arm. 'Do you have any idea of where she might have been taken to?' She raised her brow at him.

He nodded. 'I know she's here in Switzerland, but I'm not sure where about.'

'Well, the first thing that I would do is check the abandoned buildings. There are a couple of them near here which she could have been to, so when you go out looking for her I'll come with you so that I can give you directions.' The two of them shared a smile. 'If we don't find her in one of those, we'll keep on searching and take a look in some of the forests for her.'

Georg fell into silence for a few seconds. 'I keep telling the children that we're going to find her and that she's not going to get hurt, but I don't know for certain that whoever has her _isn't _hurting her and it makes me feel sick. I promised the Reverend Mother I'd protect her.'

Hearing the tearfulness in her brother's voice prompted Hede to give him a delicate peck on the cheek. 'We're going to find her, I promise you. Even if we have to go out searching for weeks, which I doubt will be the case. Elias works late nights, so he's rather tired in the day, but I know he'll help us to look for her as well.' She grasped one of his hands in her own.

'I'm going to kill whoever has her.' He admitted as he ran his thumb across her knuckles.

'Let's just focus on finding her for now, alright?' She offered him a small smile.

'Alright.' He echoed.

A knock on the drawing room door made them both turn their head, Hede's eyes lighting up as she saw Nanny Accola standing in the doorway with her son perched on her hip and her little girl holding her hand. 'I'm sorry to disturb you, milady, but Master Luca just woke up.' Nanny Accola explained, a light smile appearing on Hede's lips before she shook her head.

'It's quite alright, Nanny, they can come in.' She reassured her.

Nanny Accola then made her way into the room with the children, Camilla slipping her hand out of hers in order to run over to her mother and give her a cuddle. Once she had pressed the softest of kisses into her little girl's fair hair, Hede allowed the Nanny to lower Luca into her lap before she held him to her chest and gave him a kiss on the crown of his head, too.

'Is there anything that I can get for you?' Nanny Accola asked.

'No, thank you, Nanny.' Hede smiled before the Nanny nodded, curtsied and left the room.

When she turned her head in the direction of her brother again, she saw that he was smiling at the children. 'I meant to send you photographs of the two of them when they were born, but there were complications with both of the births and so I suppose it slipped my mind to do so.' She admitted whilst Luca reached up and began to tug on her brown tresses of hair.

'Complications?' Georg asked.

'When I was in labour with Camilla,' She said as she held her daughter to her chest, 'she was lying sideways and so the doctor had to turn her, but then she went into distress and I was close to having to go to hospital for a caesarean. She was born quite fast though, so both of us were fine.' She pecked Camilla on the forehead and earned herself an enchanting smile.

'Luca's birth was the hardest and the longest because he was breech and the doctor couldn't turn him. He was fine when he was born and the doctor was about to go, but then I ended up having a haemorrhage and so I had to go into hospital for a blood transfusion.' Luca gave a gentle giggle when she looked down at him and tickled his stomach. 'I was alright after.'

Georg smiled. 'How old are they?'

'Are you going to tell your uncle how old you are, sweet pea?' Hede turned her head towards Camilla again, her heart swelling with love for her when she thought for a moment before holding up three of her fingers. 'She turned three the other week, didn't you?' She asked her.

'Yep.' Camilla nodded.

Hede giggled before lowering her gaze to Luca again and using her handkerchief to wipe the drool off of his chin. 'And Luca turns seven months old tomorrow, which is unbelievable.'

'They grow up too fast, don't they?' He sighed after stroking Luca's cheek with the backs of his fingers. 'I mean, Liesl's seventeen in two months.' Hede looked at him with wide eyes.

'Is she, really?' She gasped. 'I remember holding her when she was a week old!'

'I can't believe it, either.' He chuckled.

Hede shushed Luca when he began to fuss in her lap. 'You must be so proud of them.'

'I am.' He told her. 'They've all done so well since we left Austria, especially Marta and Gretl. I hope you don't mind, but I think I'm going to let them rest for the rest of the afternoon.'

'Of course, I don't mind. They've earned it.' She reassured him. 'You should go and rest, too.'

He shook his head. 'I'm thinking about going out and starting to look for Maria.'

'Georg, I think you should wait until the morning.' She told him. 'You're exhausted, you need to bathe, you haven't eaten much of anything after the last couple of days and you're in no fit state to go anywhere right now.' She heard him release a sigh. 'I know that you miss her.'

'That's an understatement.' He mumbled.

Hede rested her hand on his knee. 'Go upstairs and take a bath, Georg, and then get changed into a pair of Elias' pyjamas and get some sleep. I'll come up and wake you before dinner.'

He knew that there was no point in trying to argue with her and so he pressed his lips to her cheek before rising from the settee and walking over to the door, a small smile gracing his features when he turned back to look over at her. 'Thank you so much for this.' He told her.

'You're welcome.' She reassured him before he left the room and approached the staircase.

As he ascended the stairs, his thoughts once again went back to Maria.

'_I'm going to find you, my darling,' _He said in his head, _'if it's the last thing I do.'_

* * *

It was later that evening when Tobias was perched on the edge of Maria's bed as he watched her snooze, his gaze fixed on her face as he ran his hand over her hair and listened to her gentle snores. She was sleeping with one hand resting beside her head on her pillow and the other lying on her lower abdomen through her skirt, and he was certain that he had never seen such a beautiful creature before. In his eyes, she was grace and perfection personified.

He had meant what he had said to her earlier on: if it were up to him he _would_ take her back to her husband. She hadn't done anything to deserve to be held hostage in this run-down shack and he knew that the disgraceful condition of it wouldn't be helping her health in the slightest, but he wasn't the one in control and so his hands were tied. If he tried to make things right; if he said to Zeller that what he was doing was wrong, he would face his wrath.

The feeling of Maria shivering in her sleep brought him out of his thoughts and back to the present and he wasted no time in covering her with the blanket, his lips curling up into a smile as he watched her snuggle underneath it and settle down again. She was so adorable.

He decided to leave her be so that she could get some rest and so he rose from the bed and moved to stand in front of the small cupboard, his gaze fixed on her as he turned the gas lamp down a little. Once the shack had been dimmed he walked over to his chair before he sat down and folded his arms across his chest. He remembered what she had said earlier.

He remembered how she had asked him if his mother would be proud of him for taking her from her husband and children, and he knew that she wouldn't be. He knew that the only thing his mother would be if she knew about this was disgusted in him. He did feel bad for Maria's husband and children; he felt awful for causing them pain, but what could he do?

If he tried to help Maria the two of them would be in danger and he would never be able to forgive himself if she ended up getting hurt because of him. As long as she stayed in the shack and as long as he kept his mouth shut around Zeller, neither of them would be hurt.

And so that was what was going to happen.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope that you all enjoyed that and that you will leave a review to let me know what you all thought!**

**So, Maria is being held hostage in a shack in Switzerland and Georg has just arrived at Hede's...will he find her? Keep reading to find out :-) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Welcome to chapter four! I know I only uploaded chapter three yesterday, but I just couldn't wait to put this chapter up. I have to admit that I'm a little nervous about this one - I'm not sure if it's as good as my other three - but I hope you all like it! Happy reading :-)**

* * *

Hede was unable to take her eyes off of her son when she was settled on the settee with him in her arms the next morning, a smile on her lips as she rocked backwards and forwards in a comforting motion and fed him his bottle. When he had been a newborn she had longed to nurse him herself, to have the same intimate moments with him that she had been blessed enough to have with Camilla, but she had found it too hard. She had been in too much pain.

Expressing her milk was far less painful than having Luca latched onto her, however, and so that was what she had resorted to doing when Luca had been a couple of weeks old. Even though she fed him through a bottle, he was still getting _her_ milk and knowing that allowed her to rest easier at night. 'My beautiful boy.' She whispered as she gazed into his eyes, a perfect coo coming from him when she lowered her head to nuzzle a kiss onto his forehead.

'All I ever heard when we were children was how much you wanted to be a mother when you grew up.' She turned her head in the direction of the doorway to the sitting room when her brother's voice reached her ears, a giggle escaping her when she saw him leaning against the door-frame before he walked into the room and began to approach her. 'All you would ever ask for at Christmas or on your birthday was a doll or accessories _for_ your dolls.' He smiled.

'I remember.' She admitted as she lowered her gaze to Luca again when he sat next to her on the settee. 'I also remember how you used to steal my dolls and hide them to make me cry whenever I was being a pain.' She turned her head in his direction before glancing up at him.

Georg nodded with a chuckle. 'You were the most irritating little sister when we were young. I couldn't go and do _anything _without you wanting to do it too.' The two of them smirked.

'You know; most people would see that as a little girl adoring her older brother.' She teased.

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he nudged her.

The two of them then fell into a comfortable silence whilst waiting for Luca to drink the rest of his bottle, Hede removing the nipple of it from between his lips once he had finished the last of the milk before she sat him up in her lap. 'How did last night go? Did you get to sleep in the end?' She asked her brother when she started to run her fingers through Luca's hair.

'I got a few hours.' He nodded. 'Marta and Gretl came and got into bed with me at one point.'

Hede smiled at him as Luca made little baby noises in her lap and used his fingers to inspect the gold locket that hung around her neck. 'I doubt Elias will be joining us and the children for breakfast. He didn't end up getting home until one o'clock this morning and it sounds as though he's coming down with something, so I've told him that he can't get up until lunch.'

'I think I'm going to go out and have a look for Maria after breakfast.' He admitted. 'I want to find her as soon as possible, which means that I have tosearch for her as long as possible.'

'I'll come with you.' She told him. 'I'll ask Nanny if she can keep a close eye on the little ones for us and I'm sure that the children will get along just fine. I'm guessing Liesl's coming?'

He nodded with a smile. 'She all but begged me to let her come and look for Maria with me.'

'Well, we should find Maria even sooner with three of us searching for her.' She said.

The two of them looked at Luca when he let out a soft squeal of happiness, Georg chuckling as he saw that his nephew was reaching out for him. Once Hede had let him take him from her, he brought him into his lap and looked at him for a time as he held him close. 'I should probably warn you that when we get Maria here, she's going to be all over this young man.'

'Ah, so she's a baby-lover.' She laughed.

'One of the biggest.' He smirked before stroking Luca's dark hair.

After a few minutes of bonding with his nephew and allowing him to inspect the wrist-watch that he had on, he turned back to his sister and said: 'When we manage to find Maria, we'll bring her back here, but she and the children and I won't be able to stay in Switzerland after that. If we do, Zeller will just come looking for the nine of us again and we'll be in danger.'

'I understand that.' She nodded. 'So, where will you go?'

'I'm not too sure, yet, I think we'll travel around for a little while, but I'm leaning toward our final destination being somewhere in America.' He admitted. 'As far away as possible is the safest option for us. It's going to kill me to leave all of this behind, but I have to think of the children and Maria and what's best for them.' Hede smiled at him as she caressed his arm.

'You'll write, won't you?' She asked.

Georg reciprocated her smile before giving her a kiss on the forehead. 'Of course, I'll write.'

'I'll send you photographs of this little one and Camilla, too.' She told him.

'I'd like that.' He admitted. 'Maria and I might have a few photographs of our own, soon.'

Hede gasped, her face breaking out into a wide smile. 'She's pregnant?'

'We don't know for certain just yet; a doctor hasn't been to her and confirmed it yet, but she _is_ displaying some of the symptoms. That's one of the reasons why I want her back sooner rather than later. If she is pregnant, she needs caring for and I know that whoever has her is doing the opposite of that if anything.' He admitted when he met her gaze before sighing.

'We'll find her, Georg.' She shifted closer to him and took his hand.

'I hope you're right.' He admitted. 'I really do.'

* * *

'I didn't manage to track down the Captain and the children in the mountains when I was up there yesterday.' Zeller admitted when he and Tobias were talking in the shack a short time later, his voice soft so not to disturb Maria who was still asleep on the bed. 'I've decided that I'm going to go up there again now and search for them until lunchtime. If I can't find them it means that the eight of them are somewhere here in Switzerland, and so I'll drive around.'

Tobias nodded. 'What will you do if you can't find them, Sir?'

'I've decided that I'm going to give it four days.' Zeller told him.

'Four days, Sir?' Tobias asked, unsure of what he meant.

'I'm going to look for the Captain for four days and if I'm still unable to find him, the two of us are returning to Salzburg and taking Maria with us. If I haven't found him in that time, it means that he must not care enough about her to go on a thorough search. If we do take her back to Salzburg, we will give her a false identity and you will make her your wife.' He said.

Tobias' eyes widened. 'My wife?'

'Yes.' Zeller replied. 'If she becomes your wife, the children that she bears you will be Aryan.'

'Children?' Tobias had to fight against the urge to let his jaw drop to the floor.

'Tobias, if I wanted an echo I would have shouted it from the rooftops.' Zeller hissed.

Tobias fell silent.

'Relax,' Zeller patted his shoulder, 'if things go my way, it won't happen.'

'Yes, sir.' Tobias nodded.

The two of them looked over at Maria when she whined in her sleep and began to stir, a sigh of relief leaving Zeller when all she did was turn over and pull the blanket further over her body. 'Now, I'll leave her in your hands. If she tells you that she wants to get some air, make sure that she is kept out of sight and that you use the handcuffs on her. I don't trust her.'

Tobias nodded before Zeller stepped past him and walked out of the shack, closing the door behind himself. When he was alone with Maria, he walked over to her bed and looked down at her resting form. If he was honest, if he was a few years older and looking for someone to settle down with and if she was single, he wouldn't have minded taking Maria for his bride.

She was beautiful, she was gentle and she had the prettiest blue eyes.

He knew, however, that even though he would have to face the wrath of Zeller, he would not be able to go through with his plan. If Zeller didn't find the Captain in three days' time, on the fourth day he would have to sneak Maria out of the shack and aid her in getting back to her husband. He could sit there and watch her for as long as Zeller asked him to, but what he couldn't do was take another man's wife. He couldn't force Maria into becoming _his_ wife.

It was obvious to him that her husband and children meant more to him than life itself and he knew that if he and Zeller took her back to Salzburg and if he forced her into marriage with him, she would spend the rest of her life miserable. He was somewhat shocked to hear himself say it, but he found that he was starting to care for her. He wanted her to be safe.

He wanted her to be happy and reunited with her family and – if the Gauleiter didn't locate the Captain in the next three days – he would make certain that that happened.

Even if it cost him his life.

* * *

'We look ridiculous.' Georg grumbled at his sister when he and Liesl were sat together in the back seat of Hede's car later that morning, his daughter wearing a headscarf and a pair of sunglasses whilst he wore a hat and an overcoat that were both at least three sizes too large.

'You told me yourself, Georg,' Hede replied as she kept her eyes on the road, 'you aren't sure if it was Zeller and one of his men who took Maria or not and, if it was them, it means that they are in Switzerland and could be in one of these cars. Do you want to risk being caught?'

Liesl had to suck her bottom lip to keep herself from giggling as her aunt scolded her father.

'What are you smirking about?' She turned her head towards him when he spoke to her, the two of them exchanging a smile when she realised that he was just teasing. 'I am so proud of you, you know. You're being so grown up about all of this, Liesl, and so brave and I know that your mother is going to be just as proud of you when we find her.' He told her gently.

Liesl sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder and allowed him to wrap his arm around her. 'It doesn't feel right. Her not being with us, I mean.' She said as she snuggled into him.

'I know it doesn't, darling, but she'll be back with us sooner than you think.' He soothed.

'Aunt Hede?' She raised her brow after a few seconds.

'Hmm?' Hede hummed as she looked through the rear-view mirror.

Liesl met her gaze in the mirror before smiling. 'Where's the next building we're going to?'

'It's about a ten-minute drive from the factory that Elias works at.' Hede replied.

'How do you know so much about the abandoned buildings around here?' Georg frowned.

'Elias likes exploring them. He tells me about them and shows me the things that he finds in them, that's how I know where they are.' She told him. 'You can't tell him that the three of us have been to them though, because he made me promise him that I wouldn't go near one in case I ended up hurt.' She rolled her eyes, Georg chuckling gently as he held Liesl close.

When Liesl shuffled closer to him and draped her arm across his stomach before grazing the side of his neck with her nose, he turned his head towards her before kissing her forehead and tightening his hold of her. 'I love you so much; you know that, don't you?' He asked her.

'Of course, I do.' She smiled when she looked into his eyes. 'I love you too, father.'

The two of them then fell into silence, Liesl bringing her head to settle on his chest in order for her to look out of the window and watch other cars go by. She hoped that she and her father and aunt found her mother soon. With each moment that passed she found that she became more concerned about her mother's welfare and she prayed that she was alright.

If it was Zeller who had abducted her, she knew that her father wouldn't hold back.

She knew that he would make him pay for it.

* * *

'Are you...' Maria looked over her shoulder at Tobias when she was stood in the window of the shack and she heard him begin to say something a few hours later, 'are you hungry?'

She looked at him in silence for a second before nodding. 'I suppose I am, a little.'

'I have some Sachertorte in my bag.' He told her. 'You're welcome to have it if you want it.'

'It's yours.' She shook her head. 'It wouldn't be right.'

Ignoring her, he leaned down and opened his bag before pulling out the slice of cake which was wrapped in a napkin. 'You're more in need of it than I am.' He said when he looked up at her again. 'Please, take it.' The two of them looked at each other for a while before Maria started to walk over to him, a slight smile forming on her lips when she accepted the cake.

'Danke, Tobias.' She said after walking over to the bed and sitting down.

'Bitte, Maria.' He replied.

He watched her as she ate, the fact that she had managed to eat the whole thing in less than a minute proof of how starving she was. 'Can I ask you something?' She said after shifting backwards on her bed until she was able to settle back against the wall and get comfortable.

'Mmm hmm.' He nodded.

'Why are you being so nice to me?' She cocked her head to one side.

He shrugged in response before sighing. 'You haven't given me a reason to be anything else.'

'Can I ask you something else?' She spoke up again.

'Anything.' He said.

'Do…do you know what Zeller is planning to do with me?' She asked him.

He felt his heart sink at her question. 'Yes, I do.'

'I'm guessing it doesn't end well for either me or my husband.' She lowered her gaze.

Tobias rose from his chair after sitting in silence for a while before approaching her bed and sitting down beside her, Maria lifting her gaze to his own as she felt the mattress dip under her. 'If I wasn't going to help you and prevent it from happening, if wouldn't end well at all.' He explained, a crease forming in-between Maria's brows as she tried to process his words.

'I don't understand.' She shook her head.

'This morning, before he left, Zeller told me that he's going to look for your husband for the next four days and if he doesn't find him…he's going to take you back to Austria.' A gentle gasp escaped Maria as her eyes widened. 'He also told me that when we get there, he's going to give you a false identity and I'm to take you as my bride.' He saw the sorrow in her eyes.

She shook her head again, sucking on her lower lip to stop it from wobbling. 'I can't do that.'

'I know.' He soothed. 'You're not going to, either.'

'But…'

He sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. 'Do you know where your husband is?'

Maria looked at him with a suspicious expression on her face. What if he was just asking her that so that he could go off and tell Zeller where Georg was? What if she couldn't trust him and he wasn't trying to help her out at all? He had helped to abduct her just the other night!

'Maria, you need to trust me.' He told her. 'I promise you that all I want to do is help you.'

As she looked into his eyes for a few seconds longer, she began to realise that there was no deceit in them. He was being truthful. 'If he and the children aren't still in the mountains, they're at his sister's house. I remember him telling me that she lives at Rotfluhstrasse 36.'

'Rotfluhstrasse?' He raised his brow. 'Zeller drove through there when we were bringing you here. It took about five minutes to get from there to here, so I doubt it would take too long for us to get you there.' Maria's eyes sparkled with happiness as she gave him a warm smile.

'Can you take me there?' She asked. 'Today? Now?'

He thought about her words for a moment as he looked at her. He had planned to return her to her husband and children on the fourth day, when Zeller would be out the longest since that would have been his last chance to locate the Captain. The expression of delight on her face now, however, made him forget about all of that. All he wanted was for her to be safe.

'Of course.' He smiled.

'Wait.' Maria said when he got up from the bed. 'What if Zeller returns and sees us leave? He could be out looking for Georg and, if he is, he could see us walking and then what would we do?' She had made a valid point; a valid point that made Tobias think for a few minutes.

'I know.' He turned back to her when an idea came to him. 'You'll have to take your jumper and skirt off so that you're down to your slip. Then, I want you to take your blanket and use it to cover your head and wrap it around yourself. If Zeller does drive past us, he won't be able to see that it's you if your face is hidden.' Maria nodded before frowning at him again.

'He'll notice you, won't he?' She asked.

'I'll just take my shirt and jacket off so that I'm in my undershirt and trousers and then I'll mess my hair up a little. If we're discreet about it and we move quickly, I doubt that we'll end up getting caught.' He told her with confidence, Maria sighing as she looked up at him.

After looking at him in silence for a few seconds she said: 'I can't understand why a young man as nice as you would want to join the Nazis. You're not like them, Tobias, you're not violent and you're caring.' Tobias lowered his gaze to the floor for a second with a mutter.

'I haven't got much of a choice now.' He told her.

'When we get to my sister-in-law's villa and we see my husband, I'll tell him that you've been looking after me and that you helped me get back to him and – because I know what Georg is like – he'll tell you that he owes a debt to you. If you explain to him that you don't want to be a part of the Nazis anymore; if you ask if you can come with us, I think he would agree.'

'No, he wouldn't.' He shook his head. 'Not after what I did to you.'

She scoffed. _'You _didn't do anything to me. It was Zeller who grabbed me; it was Zeller who gave me the sedative to knock me out and it was Zeller who's made us both stay in here!'

'I suppose...' He replied.

'All you can do is ask, Tobias. If you don't ask, you'll never know.' She told him.

The two of them shared a smile before she rose from the bed. 'We need to stop chatting and get ready to leave because we don't know when Zeller is going to be back.' She said, Tobias nodding in response before she began to get down to her slip and he to both his undershirt and his trousers. She then reached for the moth-eaten blanket and wrapped herself in it.

'Ready?' Tobias asked her after walking over to the door.

After making certain that her hair was hidden beneath the blanket, she nodded. 'I'm ready.'

He then opened the door before allowing her to step out of the shack first, a trembling sigh escaping him as he looked around the shack once more before following her and shutting the door behind them. As the two of them began to walk through the trees and towards the crowded street, Tobias realised that he'd never felt so anxious. He could be killed for this.

He knew that if the Captain refused to let him go wherever it was that he was taking Maria and their children it would be his own fault, but he also knew that if Zeller found him he would kill him. If he was killed, however, he would have been killed for doing a good deed and he was proud of that. Maria would be out of harm and back with her family and that was all that mattered to him.

* * *

Georg sighed when he was perched on the edge of the settee in his sister's sitting room later that afternoon and he lifted his cup of coffee to his lips to take a slow sip. He and Liesl and Hede had driven around for two-and-a-half hours, looking for Maria in numerous abandoned buildings, and there hadn't been a trace of her. When the three of them had returned to the car after checking the last building, he had thought about suggesting that they drove around for a little longer, but then he had realised that Liesl had fallen asleep against his shoulder.

Even though the thought of calling the search off for another night had broken his heart, the thought of forcing Liesl to keep looking when she had been so fatigued had been out of the question. On their return to the villa, he had sent Liesl upstairs to get some more rest whilst he and Hede decided on where the two of them would go and look tomorrow, and then the children had joined them. Marta and Gretl had been close to tears when they had realised that he had returned without their mother, but when Nanny Accola had entered the sitting room with Camilla and Luca it had managed to distract the two of them for a little while.

The sound of Marta and Gretl giggling brought him out of his thoughts after a few minutes and he couldn't help but chuckle when he looked at them and saw that Luca had shuffled into Marta's lap. He watched Gretl tickle his stomach through his vest whilst she sat beside Camilla and the sound of his infectious screeches and giggles made the girls giggle more. The fact that the two of them were so gentle with Camilla and Luca and knew how to make them laugh and smile reassured him that – if it turned out that Maria was pregnant – they would both make amazing big sisters. 'They're both naturals with them.' Hede pointed out.

He offered his little sister a smile when he turned his head towards her. 'Yes, they are.'

After he and Hede had watched the children play together for a short time longer, the sound of the doorbell rang out through the house. 'I had better go and get that.' She smiled before setting down her knitting. 'Would you mind watching the children for me whilst I do?' Georg nodded at her in response before she headed out of the room and across to the front door.

She couldn't hold back the soft gasp that escaped her when she opened it.

'Maria?' She instantly recognised the young woman from the wedding photo Georg had sent.

'Hede?' Maria smiled with a raise of her brow.

For a few moments, Hede was lost for words. 'Where on earth have you been?' She asked.

Maria and Tobias exchanged a glance before she turned back to her sister-in-law. 'I'll explain in a minute.' She reassured her, Hede nodding before she stepped to one side and allowed the two of them to enter the villa. 'Where's Georg? And the children?' She asked desperately.

'The older children are outside, but the younger ones are with Georg in the sitting room. 'I'll go and tell them that you're here.' Before Maria could utter another word, Hede had turned on her heel and was hurrying towards the sitting room. 'Georg…' She panted after making it to the doorway, her brother looking up at her from where he was sat, 'Maria's at the door!'

His eyes grew large and Marta and Gretl both stopped what they were doing and glanced up at her at the mention of their mother, all three of them rising in an instant before walking over to where she was standing and looking in the direction of the front door. Sure enough, Maria was standing there beside a man that none of them had seen before and with an old blanket wrapped around her. 'Mother!' Marta and Gretl squealed before rushing over to her.

Maria dropped the blanket and crouched down so that she was level with her daughters, her eyes stinging with tears of happiness when she opened her arms to them and let them fall into her embrace. She held Marta and Gretl tightly to her chest as they sobbed, both of them giggling in-between cries when she left little kisses over their faces and stroked their hair. She was trying her hardest to hold her own tears back, but when she looked up into the eyes of her husband and saw him smiling at her, she didn't care anymore and let them stream.

Her daughters let go of her after a few minutes and she felt her heart pound against her ribs as she got to her feet, her gaze never leaving Georg's as she walked over to him. She didn't manage to get a single word out before he took her hips in his hands, drew her flush against him and captured her lips with his in a long kiss. 'Mmph…' She whimpered into the kiss as she rested one hand on his chest and the other on the side of his neck, her thumb caressing the underside of his jaw as their lips shifted over one another's. 'I love you.' She breathed.

'I love you too.' He sniffed between kisses as tears of his own started to fall down his cheeks and he massaged her waist through her slip. The two of them broke apart from their kiss a few seconds later and pressed their foreheads together, Georg stroking her hair as she clung to him and pecked at his lips. 'I'm never letting you out of my sight again, you know that?'

Maria giggled in response before wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. He pressed countless kisses to the side of her head as he held her, her eyes shut as he ran his hands over her spine and she wiped her tear-stained cheeks on his shirt. 'What happened?' He hummed into her ear, a sigh escaping her when she looked over at Tobias.

'I'll tell you in a minute,' She reassured him, 'but first…first you need to know about Tobias.'

* * *

'Let me get this straight…' Georg pinched the bridge of his nose when he and Maria were sat alone together in Elias' study a little while later, 'you want me to let the man who abducted you; who dragged you off of that mountain and held you as a hostage in a _shack,_ to come to America with us and the children?' Maria shifted a bit closer to him before taking his hand.

'Tobias wasn't the one who did the abducting.' She looked into his eyes as she spoke to him. 'He wasn't the one who grabbed me and gave me a drug that knocked me unconscious. He wasn't the one who dragged me down the mountain and put me in the car, either. Zeller was the one who did all of those things and Tobias was more of…well… more of a bystander.'

Georg sighed. 'He still had a part in your abduction, darling, whether he touched you or not.'

'Georg, he took such good care of me in that shack.' She stroked his hand. 'He could have let me starve and he could have been horrid to me, but he didn't and he wasn't. He shared his food with me when I said that I needed something to eat and he apologised to me for having a part in this. He's seventeen, my love, he's still a child and I can tell that he's _so_ terrified.'

Georg sat in silence for a time as he thought about what she was saying.

'You were willing to give Rolfe another chance; you were willing to let him come with us and he had broken our daughter's heart, Georg. Tobias and Rolfe are the same age; doesn't that mean that he deserves a chance, too? The fact that he risked his life to bring me back to you and the children proves that there's good in him. If he goes back that shack, Zeller is going to kill him and if he goes back to Salzburg the Nazis will break him.' She squeezed his hand.

'You really trust him?' He raised his brow at her. 'You trust him around our children?'

She nodded. 'I do.'

'Then I do, too.' He gave her cheek a stroke with his free hand. 'I'm so glad you're alright.'

The two of them shared a smile before he leaned in to brush her lips with his.

'I can't wait to sleep in a proper bed with you tonight.' She giggled. 'Even the bed that I slept on in that shack felt like heaven after sleeping on the ground for so long.' She leaned into him when he slipped his arm around her shoulders, her lips finding his cheek as she smiled. She rested her head on his shoulder after drawing back a little, her eyes drifting closed as she yawned before he ran his fingers through her hair and pressed his lips against her brow.

'Would you like to go upstairs and get some rest?' He asked her.

'I would,' She admitted, 'but only if you join me.'

He chuckled against her skin. 'You head up, sweetheart, and I'll be with you once I've spoken to Tobias.' Maria lifted her head off of his shoulder before stretching her stiffened muscles.

'Be nice to him.' She told him before she rose from the settee and walked out of the study.

Once she had closed the door behind herself, he sighed.

He wasn't sure about this Tobias fellow one bit, but Maria knew him a lot better than he did and if she trusted him then he would try and do so as well.

He would do whatever he had to in order to make his wife happy.

* * *

As he laid in bed beside Maria that evening, he was unable to stop himself from pressing his lips to the top of her head again whilst she slept in his arms. Even though it had only been two nights since he had last gone to sleep with her snuggled against him, he had missed her warm weight and the sound of her snores. He had missed knowing that she was with him.

She hadn't joined him and Hede and the children for dinner that evening; when he had gone up to change she had been sound asleep and he hadn't had the heart to disturb her. When he had come to bed he had brought her up a sandwich and had held her as she had eaten it, but she had laid down and gone back to sleep again almost as soon as she had finished it.

He couldn't believe that she had felt the need to apologise to him for being so worn out. She had been through such an ordeal and it didn't surprise him that she couldn't keep her eyes open. He wanted her to rest as much as possible so that she gained her strength back faster and so that they and their children and Tobias could leave Switzerland as soon as possible.

This time, however, they would be leaving by train and not by foot.

He wasn't going to put his family through all of that again.

When Maria whimpered in his arms he tightened his hold of her and pressed a kiss onto her head again, his love for her deepening when she shifted a little until her head came to rest on his shoulder. 'My beautiful girl.' He whispered to her before giving her a peck on the lips.

He saw her lips curl up into the slightest smile in her sleep and couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. She was the most adorable creature. After watching her sleep in his arms for the next couple of minutes, he realised that in order for him to be able to take care of her in the morning he had to get some rest and so he reached to turn off the lamp on his nightstand.

Once the room had been plunged into darkness he snuggled further down beneath the quilt with her and allowed her to tangle one of her legs with his, his hand massaging her waist through the nightgown that Hede had allowed her to borrow as she burrowed into his neck. 'Mmm…goodnight, Georg.' She mumbled before leaving a number of kisses over his skin.

'Goodnight, my brave girl.' He whispered back whilst stroking her hair. 'Pleasant dreams.'

The two of them fell into silence again after that and Georg allowed his eyes to fall closed, a gentle sigh escaping him as he listened to the sound of his wife's snores and allowed them to lull him into a peaceful slumber for the first time in days.

* * *

**Author's Note: Maria and Georg are reunited! I hope that you all enjoyed that and didn't think that things moved too fast, but it was killing me having Maria and Georg apart and I find it so much easier to write about them if they're together for some reason. Things should be a little fluffier now that they're together again, so I hope you'll all like that. I would be so grateful if you would review to let me know what you thought, and I'll see you all soon :-)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy this chapter of pure fluff! :-)**

Maria heard and felt her husband sigh in satisfaction against her neck when she was holding him against her the next morning, a blissful smile on her lips as she combed her fingers through his hair and left kisses to his forehead. The last time she had been able to hold him close like this; the last time the two of them had made love had been on the last evening of their honeymoon in Paris. It felt like a lifetime ago now.

'I love you, my_ Captain.'_ She whispered in his ear as she used her free hand to stroke his back.

Georg chuckled from where his head was cushioned on her shoulder before his eyes opened and he looked up at her. 'I love you too, _Fraulein.'_ He teased as he caressed her hip with simple strokes of his thumb, his hand sliding upwards to take hold of her waist before he stretched up to brush her lips lightly with his.

When she began to comb her fingers through his hair again and stopped stroking his back in order to take one of his hands in hers and inspect his wedding ring, he was able to tell that she was thinking about something. 'What is it, love?' He asked before beginning to leave soft kisses over her neck, her eyes falling closed as she turned her head to one side on instinct.

'Do you think we'll ever settle down somewhere?' She entwined their fingers. 'I know that we can't stay in Switzerland for much longer now that Zeller knows we're here; I know that we have to leave again, but I'm just scared that…that we're going to keep on moving from place to place instead of settling somewhere.' She felt Georg's lips leave her neck before he used his forearms to push himself up, his gaze both warm and loving when she looked up at him.

'I don't know when it will be, sweetheart, but I swear to you that we are going to settle down somewhere at some point.' He reassured her. 'How would you feel if I told you that – in the end – I want us all to go and live in America?' He raised his brow at her, the surprise evident on her face when her eyes widened. 'I know it's far, but at least we'll all be safe over there.'

She nodded as she thought about what he was saying. 'How would we get there?' She asked.

'We'd go to Italy first.' He admitted. 'If we travel there, we and the children would be classed as Italian citizens because I was born in Zadar and Zadar became a part of Italy back in the 1920s. I have a contract with an American booking agent from when Agathe and I went over there for a fortnight about six years ago and so, once we've all spent a few weeks in Italy, I will contact him and ask him for fare to America.' He stroked her cheek softly with his hand.

Maria's lips curled up into a smile after a few seconds before she reached up and pushed his hair away from his forehead. 'I don't mind where we go, as long as we don't get separated again.' She admitted as she looked up into his eyes, Georg shaking his head before he rested his hands on her waist and leaned down to capture her lips in a slow and passionate kiss.

Their tongues waltzed with ease as she laced her arms around his neck and brushed the tips of her fingers against the hairs at the nape of it, his lips warm as they moved over her own. When the two of them pulled apart when the need for air became far too intense, he pressed his forehead against hers and gazed into her eyes whilst their breath mingled. 'Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you or our children ever again, darling, I swear that.' He breathed.

'I love you.' She cupped the sides of his neck in her hands and nuzzled his nose with hers.

'I love you too.' He whispered. 'So much.'

The two of them looked into one another's eyes in silence for a time before Georg caught his wife lowering her gaze from his own to his lips, a chuckle escaping him when he started to tickle her waist.

She couldn't help but giggle. 'It's been a long few days.'

'It certainly has.' He agreed. 'Perhaps we should start making up for lost time.'

'Mmm…' She smirked as she wrapped her arms around his neck, 'perhaps we should.'

And so, after sharing a chuckle, that was exactly what the two of them set about doing.

* * *

Georg was unable to stop himself from smiling when he was stood out on the garden terrace at the back of the villa after breakfast and he watched all seven of his children run around on the grass with Camilla. It had been such a long time since he had last heard their screams and giggles filling the air; since he had last had the pleasure of watching them be children, and he couldn't quite explain just how much he had missed it. It was such a beautiful scene.

He felt his smile grow and his heart swell with love when he turned his head in the direction of Maria who was sitting in the shade of a tree with Luca content to sit in her lap, his sweet giggles mingling with the older children's whenever Maria gave the rattle that she had in her hand a shake. It was obvious to him, just by watching her bond with their nephew, that she was going to be the perfect mother when their own child came. She was an absolute natural.

After watching Maria and Luca giggle together for a few minutes more, something out of the corner of his eye grasped his attention and when he turned his head he noticed that it was Tobias. The young man was walking around on his own with his gaze focused on the ground and his hands in his pockets. Before he had joined Maria for a nap the previous afternoon, he had given him permission to go with them when they and their children left Switzerland.

He still didn't trust him completely, though.

This was the man who had aided Herr Zeller in abducting his wife in the middle of the night. This was the man who had stood and watched as Zeller had given Maria a drug which had rendered her unconscious before dragging her down the mountain and to a motor-car which had been parked at the bottom. His wife had sworn to him that Tobias hadn't harmed her and that he hadn't touched her – and he believed her – but he was unable to forgive him yet.

He had almost torn their entire family apart by helping Zeller to carry out his scheme.

If he wanted his forgiveness, he was going to have to work long and hard for it.

The crunching of gravel prompted him to take his eyes off of Tobias after a few minutes, his lips curling up into a smile when he saw that Maria was approaching him with Luca settled on her hip. 'I think that this beautiful boy is in need of a change.' She admitted once she had ascended the steps leading up to the terrace and was standing beside him. 'Aren't you, my darling?' Luca squealed in response before reaching up to pat her cheek with his small hand.

He giggled when she turned her head and left kisses to his palm, his head falling against her shoulder before he nuzzled his face into her neck and released a huff of satisfaction. 'You know; there's something so perfect about seeing you holding a baby on your hip.' Georg said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her close, her eyes shining as he did so.

'It might not be long until the baby that I'm holding is our own.' She gave him a gentle smile.

He felt his heart race within his chest at the mental image of Maria cradling their newborn in her arms. 'Do you want to be examined before we all leave for Italy?' He kissed her hairline.

'If it's possible.' She nodded. 'I want to know for certain now, Georg, I'm tired of wondering.'

He chuckled at that before tightening his arm around her. 'I'll ask Hede to make a telephone call for us tomorrow morning.' He told her as he ran his hand along the length of her side. 'If you're not pregnant though,' He continued, 'it's alright. It isn't the end of the world, love.'

'I know.' She snuggled against him. 'I want us to keep trying when we're in Italy and once we arrive in America if it turns out that I'm not pregnant, though. Can we, sweetheart, please?'

'Of course, we can.' He turned his head towards her before giving her a slow kiss on the lips.

When the two of them parted, Maria allowed him to lean his forehead against hers and graze the tip of her nose with his own. 'I can't wait to have your children, you know.' She blushed.

'I can't wait to see you pregnant.' He admitted.

'I'm going to resemble some kind of beached mammal, aren't I?' She giggled.

'Mmm…' He nodded with a chuckle of his own, 'but a beautiful beached mammal.'

It was a few seconds later when Luca began to whine from where his head was cushioned on her shoulder and so, after lifting her head off of her husband's shoulder, she gave Luca the softest of kisses on the brow before swaying with him to comfort him. 'I should go and have a look for Nanny Accola so that she can change him.' She admitted when she glanced up at Georg again after succeeding in comforting their nephew. 'I won't be too long, I don't think.'

'Alright.' He ran his hand over her hair. 'I'll stand here and watch the children.'

'Thank you.' She replied, the two of them sharing another smile before she went up onto her tiptoes to press a quick kiss onto his lips. He then watched as she turned on her heel with Luca and began to walk back inside the villa with him, his heart fit to burst with love for her.

She was the most incredible woman on the face of the earth in his eyes.

She was lovely, she was determined, she knew him better than anyone and he cherished her.

With all of his heart.

* * *

'Elias and I felt so terrible about being unable to come to Salzburg and watch you and Georg get married.' Hede sighed when she and Maria were sat in the sitting room that afternoon.

'We both understood, Hede.' Maria reassured her after taking a sip of her tea. 'We knew that the two of you were rushed off of your feet, what with you stuck in bed after having your blood transfusion and Elias trying to care for you and the children, and we knew you would have been there if it were possible.' The two of them shared a smile when their eyes met.

'What was it like? The wedding?' Hede asked.

Maria released a sigh of happiness as she thought back to it. 'Perfect.' She replied. 'Because I had been a postulant there and because Georg understood how big a place the convent had – and still has – in my heart, he went to the Reverend Mother and asked if she would give us permission to have the wedding there and she agreed. He wanted everything to be perfect.'

'Yep; that sounds like Georg.' Hede teased before the two of them giggled together. 'He does adore you, you know. He wrote to me back at the start of your engagement to inform me of it, and the things that he said about you were so beautiful.' Maria felt the blush rising in her cheeks. 'When he sent me a photograph of you both at your wedding, he looked so happy.'

Maria took another sip of her tea before leaning back against a cushion. 'I'm still finding it a little hard to believe that this is my life. When I was growing up, I had nothing and now I'm the wife of a Baron and a mother to seven children. Maybe eight.' She shook her head softly.

'It took a while for it all to sink in with Elias when we married, too, but now he's managed to come to terms with it.' Hede admitted when she, too, leaned back against a floral cushion. 'Are you nervous about moving to America?' She asked after a time. 'About travelling again?'

Maria nodded. 'A little, I suppose. There's nothing to say that Zeller won't find us heading to the train station and there's nothing to suggest that there aren't going to be more Nazis on the lookout in and around the station, either. I suppose what scares me the most is thinking about what could happen to Georg if Zeller or the Nazis do show up. He nearly got himself killed protecting me and the children in Salzburg and I know he'd do it again if he needs to.'

Hede rested her hand on Maria's arm and stroked it. 'Don't think about the negative side of things, Maria.' She told her. 'Think about the positive side. Think about what your life will be like when you and Georg reach America with the children. You're going to have a new start.'

'You're right.' Maria sighed before offering her sister-in-law a friendly smile. 'Thank you.'

'It's not a problem.' Hede reassured her.

There was a knock on the sitting room door a few minutes later and Maria and Hede turned their heads in its direction before smiling at Nanny Accola. 'I do apologise for this, milady, but Miss Camilla has just had a little tumble and is crying for you.' Nanny Accola explained.

'I'm coming.' Hede nodded. 'I'll settle her and then I'll be back, Maria.'

'Take all the time you need; there's no rush.' Maria shook her head as she set her tea down.

She then watched Hede walk out of the sitting room with Nanny Accola, her lips curling into a smile when she watched Georg walk into the room just moments later. 'Is there a reason why you're sat in here on your own?' He raised his brow as he approached her, a gentle sigh escaping him when he leaned down after reaching her and brushed her lips with his own.

'Camilla's fallen over and so Hede's gone to see her.' She told him. 'She won't be too long.'

Georg nodded before moving to sit beside her, his forehead creasing a little when he saw the tiredness in her eyes. 'You're exhausted.' He brought his hand to her cheek and cupped it.

'I'll be alright.' She nuzzled against his palm, her eyes falling closed.

'Maria,' He whispered before she opened her eyes again and looked into his, 'go to bed.'

She shifted closer to him before resting her head on his shoulder and giving him a smile. 'It takes me so long to go to asleep if I'm not wrapped in your arms.' She admitted in his ear.

'Is this your way of telling me that you want me to join you?' He smirked.

'It might be.' She stroked his knee through his trousers.

He couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable she was when she was tired. 'Come on, then,' He pressed a number of kisses onto her forehead, 'let's get you upstairs and tucked into bed.' The two of them then got up from the settee before he slipped his hand into her own and laced their fingers together, Maria resting her head on his upper arm as he began to lead her out of the sitting room. 'I love you.' He sighed after giving her crown a tender kiss.

'I love you too.' She whispered. 'So, so much, my love.'

* * *

'Sorry…' It was the late hours of that evening when Maria wiped around her mouth with the handkerchief that'd been under her pillow after she had thrown up bile into her sick-bowl, Georg shushing her with a shake of his head as he ran his hand over her short auburn hair.

'Never apologise to me for something like this.' He said to her. 'When we were wed, I vowed to love you both in sickness and in health and I intend to honour that.' He revelled in the weak smile that graced her features before he leaned into her in order to kiss her forehead. 'You lie down, sweetheart, and get comfortable whilst I go and get rid of this.' He smiled.

Once she had snuggled down beneath the quilt and slipped her hand beneath her pillow, he got up from the bed and began to walk over to their ensuite. He then switched on the light before walking inside and setting about cleaning the bowl. Within minutes, he was climbing back into bed behind his bride and wrapping his arms around her. 'Georg?' She whispered.

'Yes?' He replied as he kissed the back of her neck.

She turned over in his arms before snuggling into him and resting her head on his shoulder, a sigh escaping her as she draped her leg over his hip and looked into his eyes. 'Thank you for taking such good care of me.' She said, her eyes drifting closed for a second when he ran the backs of his fingers down her flushed cheek. 'It means far more to me than you think.'

'You, along with our children, mean more to me than anything else on earth, Maria.' He left a kiss on her nose. 'It's my job as a father and a husband to look after all eight of you, and it is the most important job that I – or any man for that matter – could ever have.' They shared a smile before he drew the covers further over her. 'How are you feeling now, sweetheart?'

'A little better, now that that's over.' She admitted.

'Well enough to get some more sleep?' He asked with a raise of his brow.

She nodded against his shoulder. 'I think so.'

'I'm glad to hear it.' He gave her a squeeze before the two of them started to settle down in the other's arms and closed their eyes. 'Goodnight, Maria. Sweet dreams.' He whispered.

'The same to you, my darling.' She mumbled into his neck. 'The very same to you.'

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading this chapter :) I apologise if it was a little rushed, but I wanted to get it done today and then my laptop crashed and so I had to write most of it again. It is now 2:00 and so I'm exhausted, but glad this is up! I hope you all liked it and I hope that you'll review to let me know what you thought of it. See you in chapter 6! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome to chapter six :-) I hope that you all enjoy! x**

* * *

Georg used his fingers to brush a strand of his wife's hair back behind her ear whilst she slept next to him the following morning, a soft smile on his lips as he was propped up on his elbow and his head rested on his hand whilst he gazed down at her. He had discovered, just a few days into their honeymoon in Paris, that watching Maria snooze was one of the things he loved the most about being her husband. She was gorgeous at all times to him, but even more so when she was asleep.

He wasn't sure what the most beautiful thing about her when she was asleep was; whether it was the beating of her eyelashes against her cheeks or how there was always a delicate blush in her cheeks, but one thing he was certain of was that he was the luckiest man alive to be able to rouse from slumber to find her next to him each morning. 'Shh…' He shushed against her temple when he leaned down to leave a lingering kiss on it as she started to stir next to him a few minutes later.

'Mmm…' She murmured when her eyes opened a little and she looked up at him, 'what time is it?'

'Early,' He whispered as he laid down beside her again before opening his arms to her and allowing her to shuffle into them, his lips finding the crown of her head when she nuzzled her face against the hairs on his chest, 'Get some more sleep, my love, I'll wake you up when it's time for breakfast.'

She nodded against him in response before tilting her head back in a silent request for a kiss, both of them sighing against the other when their lips met. He smoothed his hand over her short hair when he lingered on her bottom lip for a few seconds before ending their kiss, the love that he had for her deepening when he wrapped his arms around her and she draped an arm over his waist.

He felt her run her fingers back and forth across the skin of his lower back whilst she drifted off to sleep again in his arms, his eyes shut as his chin rested on top of her head and he listened to her breathing beginning to even out. It wasn't too long before she was letting out quiet snores and she had relaxed in his embrace, his lips curling up into a smile as he stroked her spine with his hand.

She had had a nightmare at some point in the night. He could remember waking up to her whining in her sleep and turning her head from side to side as her brow had glistened with sweat, and he could remember drawing her into his lap and comforting her whilst she had sobbed into him once he had managed to rouse her. She had been so vulnerable and fragile and he had despised that.

It had taken him a couple of minutes to calm her down with kisses to her brow and light caresses, and, once the two of them had snuggled down beneath the sheets again, she had told him what her nightmare had been about. It had been a flashback to her abduction. Her pleasant dreams had been plagued by the memory of Zeller covering her mouth to stifle her scream, of the sting of the needle when he had given her that drug and of him telling her that he would kill both Georg and their children if she had tried to escape.

She had woken up when she had passed out in her dream due to the sedative that Herr Zeller had given her and that was when she had allowed her husband to draw her close. Georg despised the thought of Maria suffering - especially since she had told him about the abuse she had endured at the hand of her uncle when she had been a little girl - but he was going to be there to support her.

He ran a hand up and down her back through her nightgown again when she snuggled further into him, his hold of her tightening when she pressed her face into his throat and released a deep huff of contentment. If Maria hadn't wanted to remain in Switzerland until she knew for sure if she was expecting or not, he would leave with her and the children and get them all onto a train to Italy as soon as breakfast had finished, but she _did_ want to and so he needed to wait for a few more days.

It was clear to him that the longer the nine of them - _ten_ of them now that Tobias was going along with them - stayed there, the higher the chance that Herr Zeller would find them became, but the thing that kept him calm was knowing that, as long as no-one went into town or outside the gates of the villa, they would all be safe from him. He hated the thought of making his children and his possibly pregnant wife flee again, but if it meant that the eight of them weren't in danger he'd do it.

He lowered his gaze to his sleeping wife once again after a time before a smile formed on his lips. She was magnificent. She was the one who had helped him to find the strength and the courage to lead her and their children up the mountain. She was the one who had comforted their children when they had cried in the night, and she was the one who could quite possibly be growing their first child. Everything about her was perfect and he vowed to himself to never take her for granted.

Because he loved her more than life itself.

* * *

It was late the following morning when Liesl was sat out in the garden at the back of her aunt's villa, a sketch-pad resting in her lap whilst she used the pencil in her hand to sketch the little birds that were cooling off in the bird-bath. She had chosen not to join the rest of the family for breakfast. Last night at dinner, she had sat in the chair opposite Tobias and had been unable to bring herself to look into his eyes.

When her father had told her - along with the others - that he had told him that he could come with them when they left for Italy, she had thought that he had gone insane. What on earth had possessed him to invite Tobias to travel with them? This was the man who had kept her mother as a hostage in a shack, for goodness sake! She didn't trust him in the slightest and she knew that she would never forgive him.

He had seemed quite hurt when she and the others had given him the cold shoulder when they had been sat together in the drawing room after dinner, but what had he expected from them? Had he truly believed that - just because their parents were being kind to him - the seven of them would just forget about what he had done? He had been their enemy - he had been a Nazi - and they would never forget that.

When she looked up from her sketch-pad again in order to take another look at the birds in the bird-bath and add a little more detail to her sketch, she caught sight of her mother walking down the terrace steps and offered her a smile when she started to approach her. It didn't take long for her to reach her and - once she had lowered herself down to sit next to her - she let her wrap one of her arms around her middle.

'That looks so beautiful, darling,' Maria said after giving her a kiss on the side of her head, 'you have a real talent.' Liesl smiled as her head leaned against her shoulder.

'Before she passed away, my first mother taught me how to draw.' She told her. 'She would take me down to the park or into the garden and we would sit and sketch together for hours until the sun started to go down or father told us that it was time to go inside. I didn't sketch after she passed away, but I want to pick it up again.'

Maria hummed in response whilst massaging her waist through her blouse. 'Can we have a little talk?' She inquired after the two of them had sat in silence for a time.

Liesl lifted her gaze from her sketch-pad and looked at her. 'About what?' She asked.

'Tobias.' Maria replied.

Liesl let out a sigh in response.

'Sweetheart, I know you hate him for what he did, but you need to understand that it was a mistake.' Maria explained when she brought her further into her warmth.

'Mother, a mistake is knocking a vase off of a table when playing with a ball inside the house. A mistake is walking into someone and causing them to drop something that they were holding. What Tobias did to you wasn't a _mistake._ He _planned_ that.' Liesl shook her head whilst she looked at her, soft tears starting to cloud her vision.

Maria brought her hand to her cheek and cupped it in her palm before brushing her lips against her forehead. 'He was scared out of his wits, Liesl, and Zeller gave him the order to go with him to that mountain. I don't doubt that he believed that Zeller would kill him if he opposed his plan and so he helped him abduct me that night.'

'Don't ask me to forgive him,' Liesl whispered, 'because I can't.'

Maria shook her head. 'I'm not asking you to forgive him or to forget about what he did, darling, but I _am _asking you to be civil with him. He's not our enemy now; he told me that he doesn't want to be a Nazi anymore and that he wants to be able to live a proper life, and he deserves that. _Everyone_ deserves that.' She sighed.

Liesl sat in silence for a couple of seconds as she thought about what her mother had said, her lips curling up into a slight smile when she looked at her again. 'Alright, I promise that I'll be a little more civil with him and that I'll try and speak with him. I want you to know though, that I'm doing it for you. Not for him.' She said to her.

'I know.' Maria tightened her hold of her before allowing her to rest her head on her shoulder and nuzzle into her neck. 'I love you so much, Liesl; you know that, right?'

'Of course, I do.' Her daughter replied. 'I love you too.'

The two of them then fell into a comfortable silence whilst watching the small birds clean themselves and drink from the bird-bath, the gentle breeze brushing through their hair as they held one another close and looked forward to another perfect day.

* * *

'So, what did the doctor say?' Georg asked once he had shut the door to the bedroom that he was sharing with Maria a short time after lunch and began to walk over to their bed, his wife offering him a smile when he perched himself on the edge of the bed and grasped one of her hands in his.

'He asked me how I've been feeling and so I told him that I've been throwing up and suffering from those headaches,' She told him, 'and then he asked me for a urine sample before taking a sample of my blood. I asked him if there was a chance that he could speed up the waiting time - I told him that we're just here to pay a visit and that we're going at the end of the week.' She told him softly.

'And what did he say?' He ran his thumb across her knuckles.

'He said that he'll send a telegram in two days.' She beamed. 'That'll tell me if I'm expecting or not.'

He was unable to stop the smile from spreading across his own lips as he saw her eyes sparkling, his gaze falling to her stomach before he rested his free hand on it through her dress and ran the pad of his thumb over it. 'Maria, we might have created a baby…' He whispered once their eyes had met again, his wife giggling in reply as she covered his hand with hers and entwined their fingers.

'I can't believe it…' She admitted.

The two of them shared a smile before he shifted closer to her on top of the covers and pressed a kiss onto her lips, her free hand coming up to rest on the side of his neck. 'I don't want you to get your hopes up.' He said once their kiss had ended and he gave her cheek a stroke with the back of his hand. 'I love you, darling, and the last thing I want is for you to get hurt if you're not pregnant.'

'I promise you that I won't start getting excited about it until we know for certain that I'm pregnant. When we receive the telegram - if it says that I'm expecting - we can tell the children and then the seven of them can be excited with us.' She decided. 'I don't want to keep it hidden from them if I'm pregnant. Especially not since little Marta is _dying _for another little brother or sister.' She smirked.

'Did she say that?' He chuckled.

She nodded with a giggle. 'When we were in the mountains she asked if I was ever going to have a baby of my own, and when I asked if she would like it if you and I had a child she told me that she would.' He shook his head as he chuckled again before he cupped his wife's cheek in his palm and stroked her lower lip with his thumb, the two of them smiling when he leaned in to give her a kiss.

This kiss was softer and slower than the one they had shared a few minutes ago and she stopped him from pulling back from her with a hand on the back of his neck when she felt him starting to bring their kiss to an end. 'Come here.' She whispered in-between kisses before moving over to the other side of the bed in order for him to join her, warmth flooding her body when he wrapped her in his arms and deepened their kiss. 'Darling?' She mumbled after a little while. 'Do we have time?'

'We have all the time in the world now, sweetheart,' He breathed whilst starting to lie her down on the bed, 'all the time in the world.'

And, as he pressed his lips back to hers and settled down beside her, she knew that that was true.

* * *

'I can't wait to see you with our newborn whenever that time comes, you know…' Georg allowed his lips to graze his wife's bare shoulder as he spoke to her whilst lying behind her in the afterglow of their lovemaking late that evening, his fingertips dancing across her stomach as he held her close. 'I can't wait to hold you whilst you nurse it,' He gave her shoulder a kiss, 'to sit and watch you sew and dress it in outfits,' He pressed a kiss into her neck, 'and to be able to listen to you singing to it.'

A tired smile appeared on Maria's lips when she reached up and lifted Georg's free hand off of her pillow in order to take it in hers, her eyes drifting closed when she turned her head on his arm to kiss the inside of his wrist. 'I can't wait to see you with it, either.' She told him. 'You're an incredible father to the seven children we have now, darling, and I can tell that you're going to be the same when we have our own child.' She felt him shift closer to her under the covers and peck her cheek.

'You're tired.' He rested his hand flat on her stomach before snugging her flush against his chest, a loving sigh escaping him when she fit against him as though she had been made just for him. 'If you are pregnant with our child, you need as much sleep as possible so that you both stay healthy and so that your body has enough energy to grow our little one.' He kissed her on the back of the head. 'Close your eyes, my sweet, and go to sleep.' He told her after turning to switch off his lamp.

'Don't let go of me.' She whispered as she closed her eyes as he had instructed. 'Please, Georg.'

He shook his head before kissing the base of her neck. 'I promise you that I won't let go, Maria.'

'Thank you.' She replied, the two of them sharing a kiss when she looked over her shoulder at him.

'I love you so much.' He nuzzled her shoulder after drawing the covers further over them both.

'I love you too.' She smiled into the darkness as she slipped her fingers through the gaps in his.

A silence fell over them for a couple of minutes then, and Georg felt relief flood his veins when he heard her breathing even out and gentle snores escape her. Before Zeller and Tobias had taken her from him; had forced the two of them to sleep apart, he had taken sleeping with her wrapped in his arms for granted in a way. He hadn't realised just how blessed he was to have the right to hold her close until he had been unable to. Sleeping without her next to him had been pure torture.

He knew now, however, as he held her a little tighter and pressed his lips to her neck one final time before closing his eyes and settling down to sleep, he would never take sleeping next to her for granted again. He was the luckiest man living to have such a brave, beautiful and intelligent young woman beside him every morning and night and - no matter what - he would never forget that.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter :-) I don't know if it was as good as the others, but I've had a bit of writer's block and so this was the best I could do for now, but I promise that the next chapter will be better. I think that chapter 8 or 9 will be the start of the vT's travelling to Italy! Stay tuned for that ;) See you all next time x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: I apologise for the longer wait between this chapter and the last one, but it's here now and I hope that you all enjoy it :-)**

* * *

It was nearing midnight the following night when Maria and Georg were perched on the edge of the bed that they were sharing at Hede's, the two of them folding and packing the clothes that she had bought for them that afternoon into the suitcases that she had given to them. They had both made the decision to drive down to the train station at lunchtime tomorrow and catch a train that would take them to Italy.

The telegram that would be revealing whether or not Maria was with child would be arriving in the first post tomorrow morning, meaning that - as long as they packed everything that needed to be packed tonight - all that they would need to do would be bring their suitcases downstairs and leave the villa with their children when the Butler came upstairs to announce that it was lunchtime. It was quite a simple plan.

If it were up to them and if Herr Zeller wasn't in Switzerland and searching high and low for them, they would find a villa near Hede and settle down there. The fact of the matter was though, that Zeller _was _searching tirelessly for them and the longer they stayed in Switzerland the greater the risk of them being sought out became. They had no choice but to get themselves on that train to Italy as soon as possible.

'You're quiet, tonight.' Georg said as he folded a pair of his trousers before lowering them into his case, Maria looking into his eyes as she did the same with her dress.

'Am I?' She raised her brow. 'I apologise, darling, it's not intentional.'

He sighed as he set down the pair of trousers that he had been about to fold before patting his knee. 'Come here.' He told her, Maria dropping her blouse into her case before she rose from their bed and sat down on his knee. 'Maria, my sweet, I'm your husband. I know that we haven't been married for long, but I have known you long enough to know that you go quiet whenever you're worried or troubled.' He told her.

She gazed into his eyes for a few moments before she slipped both arms around his neck, his hands coming up to rest on her waist when he leaned in to brush a tender kiss against her bottom lip. 'Talk to me, Maria.' He whispered after bringing the kiss to an end. 'What is it that you always tell the children when one of them is worried or upset about something? That talking about your problems helps to solve them?'

She sighed as she leaned her forehead against his. 'I'm scared.'

'What are you scared about?' He asked as he lifted one hand up to stroke her hair.

'Being separated from you and the children again,' She whispered, 'and the thought of you risking your life to protect us all. I'm scared of everything, I suppose. I'm not as brave as you thought I was.' She opened her eyes when Georg cupped her cheeks in his hands and eased her back from him, his thumbs caressing her skin as he left the gentlest of kisses on her forehead before he drew back and gazed into her eyes.

'_You _are the bravest woman I have ever met and I promise you that I am never going to think otherwise.' He reassured her. 'It's only natural for you to be scared, darling, especially considering what happened to you a couple of days ago. Nothing like that is ever going to happen to you again though, I mean it.' Maria nodded her response before stroking his hair. 'You mean everything to me and you know that, don't you?'

She smiled. 'Of course I do.'

'You look so tired.' He ran the back of his hand down her face. 'You need to lie down and get some sleep if you're going to have the strength to travel tomorrow, Maria.'

She shook her head. 'We still need to finish packing.'

'_I _will finish packing for the both of us.' He admitted.

'But then _you'll_ be tired.' She replied.

He couldn't help but chuckle. 'Ah...still the argumentative little minx you were when we had our spat on the patio last summer, I see.' He teased whilst smirking at her.

'Some things never change.' She laughed. 'Even when one marries into aristocracy.'

He leaned in to kiss her lips before running his hand up and down her spine through her nightgown. 'You don't need to be worried about me. I went for days without a wink of sleep during the war, so I'm going to be fine.' Maria nodded as she wrapped her arms around his neck once again before leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek.

'I love you.' She told him after getting off of his knee.

'I love you too.' He smiled as he watched her walk around to her side of the bed and pull back the covers, a sigh of contentment leaving her lungs when she sat on the bed before lying herself down and covering herself with the quilt. 'Goodnight, love.'

'Goodnight, Georg.' She whispered from where she laid. 'Don't stay up all night.'

He chuckled before reaching out to stroke her leg through their covers. 'I won't.' The two of them shared a smile before he watched her settle down and close her eyes. She was asleep in minutes after that, her quiet snores filling the air as her hand laid beside her head on her pillow and she was at peace. She was so endearing to him.

He picked up the pair of trousers that he had set down earlier after a few moments, but before he began to fold them he looked over his shoulder at his snoozing wife once more in order to remind himself of just how lucky he was to have her in his life.

* * *

'I wish you wouldn't wear that, you know,' Maria was unable to keep the smile off of her lips when her husband took hold of her hips from behind and hummed into her ear whilst she applied another coat of mascara to her lashes the following morning, 'you're beautiful enough without it.' She sighed when he gave her neck a slow kiss.

'You're such a darling.' She replied as she closed her mascara before he wrapped his arms around her waist and snugged her back against his chest as she searched for her pink lipstick in her cosmetic bag. Georg busied himself with nuzzling against her neck and leaving kisses over her skin whilst she applied it, her heart racing slightly.

She couldn't help but giggle and give him a playful eye-roll through the mirror in the ensuite when he hooked a finger beneath the strap of her powder-pink dress and pulled it down her arm so that he could trail his kisses across her shoulder, her head falling back against his own shoulder once she had applied her lipstick to her lips.

'Are you _trying_ to make us late for breakfast, Captain?' She smirked.

'This is the last time I'm going to be able to have you all to myself until we've arrived in Italy.' He replied, his voice muffled against her skin as he kissed back up her neck again. '_Of course _I'm trying to make us late for breakfast.' The two of them laughed before Maria turned around in his arms and rested both of her hands on his waist.

The two of them gazed into one another's eyes for mere seconds before he lowered his head and captured her lips with his, Maria curling her fingers into his waistcoat as she released a sigh of happiness into his mouth and leaned against him. The two of them kissed slowly and softly for a time, but when one of Georg's hands moved up her back and into her hair their kiss began to take on a somewhat deeper nature.

He ran his tongue along the seam of her bottom lip as her hair slipped through each gap in his fingers like grains of sand, his lips curling up into a smile against her own when she parted them and allowed him to deepen their kiss. 'Mmph…' He heard her whimper as he used the hand that was on the small of her back to bring her closer. 'I love you.' She breathed between kisses as she slipped her arms around his middle.

'I love you too, you beautiful creature.' He replied before he walked her backwards a few pace, the two of them parting for a moment as she giggled when her back hit the small cabinet. He smiled as he looked her in the eye whilst bringing his hands to her hips and lifting her to sit atop it, Maria sharing his smile as she laced her arms around his neck and bracketed his hips with her legs whilst stroking his hair warmly.

'It's just occurred to me that I'm going to find out if I'm pregnant today.' She said.

Georg hummed as he massaged her sides through her dress. 'Do you think you are?'

'It would explain why I've been throwing up so much and why I've been getting all of these migraines.' She replied. 'When I told doctor Allaman about all the symptoms I've been experiencing, he told me that there's a high chance that I'm expecting, but he couldn't say for sure until he had run some tests.' She cupped his neck lovingly.

'If it turns out that you _are _pregnant, I want you to take things as easily as possible.' He told her. 'I want you to let yourself relax, even though I'm not 100% certain that that word is even a part of your vocabulary.' The two of them smirked at each other. 'I mean it though, sweetheart, if you're expecting I want you to look after yourself.'

She nodded before leaning forward to give him a languorous kiss on the lips. 'I will, I promise.' She breathed after peeling back from his lips for a second to look at him.

'Good.' He ran a hand over her hair. 'Now come here and let me kiss you.'

She giggled before locking her fingers together behind his neck and allowing him to press his lips to hers again, a blush rising in her cheeks when he deepened the kiss as she could tell that the two of them were _definitely_ going to be late for breakfast.

* * *

It was a short time later when the two of them were sat across from one another at the breakfast table in the dining room, Elias sitting in-between the two of them as Hede sat opposite him and the children and Tobias took up the rest of the seats. As Maria lifted her teacup to her lips in order to take a sip of her tea, Julian, the Butler entered the room with a telegram. 'A telegram for Baroness von Trapp, Sir.' He said.

He then handed the telegram to Maria before she smiled up at him and said: 'Thank you, Julien.' He reciprocated her smile whilst nodding out of respect before turning on his heel and exiting the dining room once again, the nervousness sparkling in her eyes when she looked up from the telegram and met her husband's gaze. 'Can you open it for me?' She asked softly, a smile appearing on her lips when Georg nodded.

She leaned forward a little in order to hand the telegram to him before leaning back in her seat again and taking another sip of her tea whilst he opened it. She felt her heart race in her chest when he pulled the folded piece of paper out, unfolded it and began to read. After a few seconds, however, he looked over at her with soft tears in his eyes and nodded. 'The doctor was right.' He smiled, handing her the telegram.

Once she had accepted the telegram for him she began to read it herself, her breath hitching when her gaze landed on the word "pregnant". 'Mother, what does father mean? What was the doctor right about?' Brigitta inquired from where she sat with Liesl and Louisa, Maria glancing over at her for a moment before she looked at her husband again and Georg gave her a soft smile before turning to face their children.

'Children, your mother and I have something that we want to tell you.' He admitted. 'At the beginning of September, if we've done our maths right, there is going to be a new addition.' The children all released gasps of surprise when they realised what he meant a few seconds later, their eyes shining with happiness when they looked at their mother. 'Your mother had an examination just the other day.' He told them.

'Is it true, mother?' Marta asked with a bright smile on her face from where she was sat in the chair right beside her, 'Is there really a baby growing inside your tummy?'

Maria nodded with a giggle whilst she stroked her cheek. 'Yes, sweetheart, there is.'

'How big is it?' The seven-year-old asked.

'It's very, very small.' Maria explained. 'At the moment, it's as little as a poppy seed.'

'_That _small?' Marta gasped, causing everyone sat at the table to chuckle as a result.

'Mmm hmm.' Maria replied before stroking her stomach with her hand. '_That_ small.'

She watched Marta place her hand on her stomach through her dress as well before the love that she had for her grew deeper when she gave it a pat. 'Congratulations, Maria.' She looked up from her little girl when Tobias spoke up from where he sat at the other end of the table, a smile appearing on her lips as she looked over at him.

'Thank you, Tobias.' She said.

'Congratulations to you, as well, Captain.' The seventeen-year-old turned to Georg.

Maria looked over at her husband once Tobias had congratulated him and was quite shocked to see that there was a smile of his own upon his lips. 'Thank you, Tobias.' He nodded before turning in his chair again, picking up his cup and taking a slow sip of his coffee. '_What?' _He asked her with his eyes when he glanced up into her own.

'_I know that you're being civil with him for my sake,' _She admitted as she shot him a look of her own, '_and I love you so much for that.' _The two of them shared a smile.

'_I love you too, my darling,' _His gaze reassured her, '_More than you could ever know.'_

* * *

'Maria, darling, I've just found this note that's addressed to you on one of the tables in the foyer.' Georg admitted as he walked into the drawing room some time after breakfast, Maria's brow creasing a little whilst she sat with Hede on the settee with Luca gurgling in her lap. 'I don't know who it could be from.' He gave her the paper.

'Me either.' She replied before snugging Luca closer to her chest, unfolding the note that simply read "Maria" on the front and beginning to read the words on the page.

**_Maria,_**

**_When I was looking through my things to ensure that I have everything this morning, it came to my attention that the pocket-watch that my father gave me before he died is not among them. It must have fallen out of my trouser pocket when we were leaving the shack and so I have gone back to search for it. I knew that if I told you where I was going you wouldn't have allowed me to go, but I cannot go anywhere without that pocket-watch as it is priceless to me, hence why I didn't tell you where I was going before now._**

**_By the time you read this note I shall be on my way back to your sister-in-law's villa and so I would be grateful if you and the Captain would wait for me to return before leaving for the train station._**

**_Sincerely, Tobias._**

After reaching the end of the letter, Maria looked up at her husband with shock and slight fear in her eyes. 'What is it?' Georg inquired whilst he got down to her level.

'Tobias has gone back to that blasted shack to search for the pocket-watch that his father gave to him before he died.' She told him as Luca stared up at her and curled his fingers into her dress. 'Georg, we need to go and get him. Zeller might be at that shack still and, if he is, Tobias' life could be in danger. He could end up being killed!'

'My darling, if we go to that shack then _we _could end up killed.' He stroked her knee.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes for a moment whilst running her fingertips through Luca's hair. 'He's seventeen, Georg.' She reminded him. 'If it was Friedrich or Kurt who had gone there, you would go and get them the second you found out.'

'This is different.' He replied.

'No, it isn't.' She sniffed. 'He's still a child, Georg, he still needs to be protected and ever since you told him that he could come with us it has been our job to do that.

Georg sighed as he gazed at her. 'What if Zeller _is_ at the shack? What if he sees us?'

'We'll know if he's there or not because he has a car. If the car is parked outside the shack then he's there and we'll make sure that we and the car are hidden until he leaves. If the car isn't parked outside the shack, he won't be there and we'll both be able to go in and make sure that Tobias isn't there either.' She told him tearfully.

'You really have a bad feeling about this, don't you?' He gave her cheek a stroke.

She nodded as she sucked on her lower lip. 'I do.'

'Alright,' He relented after a few seconds, 'we'll go and see if we can find him, but, if we don't, we're coming straight back here and getting the children to the station. I know that I said he could come with us, Maria, but I'm not going to go searching for him for hours. The safety of you and our children is my main concern.' He admitted.

A small smile spread across her lips.

'Would you be able to watch the children for us until we return?' He asked his sister when he turned his attention to her after leaving a kiss to the back of Maria's hand.

'Of course.' Hede reassured him as she accepted Luca from Maria. 'But keep safe.'

Maria rested a hand on her shoulder before rising from the settee. 'We will.'

Once she had risen from the settee she took Georg's hand in her own and laced her fingers with his, the two of them sharing a glance before they made their way out of the room and across the foyer toward the front door. 'Are you scared?' He asked when she snuggled into him and laid her head on his arm as they walked down to where Hede's car was parked, Maria shaking her head as she gazed up into his eyes.

'How could I be scared when I have you beside me?' She whispered.

He gave her hand a squeeze before pressing a kiss onto her lips. 'I love you.' He said.

'I love you too.' She smiled.

The two of them then walked around to their respective sides of the vehicle, Georg to the driver's side and Maria to the passenger side, before opening the doors and slipping into their seats. When her husband started up the car she allowed herself to lean back in her seat, her eyes drifting shut as she prayed that Tobias was alright.

* * *

It had taken them some time to arrive at the thicket of trees in which the tiny shack that she had been held hostage in was hidden in, but now they were walking hand in hand in the opposite direction to the one that Tobias had taken her in when they had been escaping. 'How far in is the shack?' Georg asked when he glanced at her.

'I can't remember, but I do know that we're going in the right direction.' She replied.

'I can't believe that he would be so careless as to come back here.' He grumbled.

She sighed as she stroked his knuckles with her thumb. 'That's was one of the first thoughts that I had, too, but then I realised that if I had left the locket that father had given me before he died in the shack then I would have gone back for it as well. Other than my wedding ring, the locket is the most priceless thing that I possess.'

'I don't think I've ever seen you without it around your neck.' He admitted.

'That's because I've never taken it off.' She gave his hand a squeeze. 'Ever since that fire killed him and mother, I've worn it day in and day out. It's the one thing that he gave me that Uncle didn't burn or sell when I went to live with him. It was as though he thought that by taking all of the things that mother and father ever gave to me away from me, I would stop thinking about them and crying for them.' She told him.

Georg released her hand when she fell quiet for a time before lacing his arm around her waist and drawing her close to him. 'You never should have had to go through that.' He said as he massaged her waist through her dress. 'Your uncle should never have treated you the way he did, darling.' She sighed with a nod as she placed her head on his shoulder. 'Do you have any idea of where he is now?' He held her nearer.

'The last I heard, he was in prison for theft.' She said.

After nodding in response, he kissed the top of her head. 'You are so strong, Maria.'

'I wouldn't be if I didn't have you.' She admitted.

He smiled down at her before tracing her jaw with his fingers. 'I feel the same way.'

She went up on her tiptoes to brush his lips with hers then, the two of them smiling as they parted before she laid her head on his shoulder again. For a short time, the two of them walked in silence together, but that silence was broken when Maria let out a gasp at the sight of the shack. '_That _is the shack that you were held hostage in?' Georg turned to face her as he took in the sight of the old, moss-covered shack.

'I'd like to say no,' She sighed, 'but yes.'

The two of them stood and looked at the shack for a few moments before she said: 'Well, Zeller's car isn't here which means that he must have gone out to search for us again. We should be quick though, because he could return at any minute.' Georg nodded in agreement before the two of them started to approach the little shack.

Maria took hold of the doorknob once they had reached the door before glancing up at him. He gave her back a slow stroke with the palm of his hand before she turned the doorknob and pushed open the wooden door, the two of them gasping in shock when their gazes fell on the scene before them. Neither of them had expected this.

Neither of them had expected to come across Tobias lying on the floor with a single gunshot wound to the centre of his chest. All that the two of them were able to do for the next couple of seconds was stand and stare in stunned silence, but when he realised that Maria was shaking he turned her to face him and stared into her eyes.

'We need to get out of here.' He told her. 'Now.'

'But...but Tobias…' She whimpered as she turned her head towards the shack again.

Georg was able to see the tears that were brimming in her eyes when he hooked his finger beneath her chin and directed her gaze back to his. 'There's nothing that we can do for him now, sweetheart,' He pointed out, 'we need to get out of here before Zeller gets back and finds us.' Once Maria had given a trembling nod, he slipped an arm around her waist before allowing her to lean against him so that he could guide her back to the car. 'Everything's going to be alright, I promise you.' He comforted.

'It was our job to protect him, Georg.' She sniffed as a tear danced down her cheek.

'Look at me.' He said after stopping for a second and resting his hands on her arms to ease her back from his shoulder, more tears rolling down her cheeks when she gazed up into his eyes. 'This is not our fault. It's not _my_ fault, it's not _your_ fault and it's not Tobias' fault. You and I both know who is to blame for all of this, darling.'

'He was so young…' She shook her head before allowing him to pull her to his chest.

She buried her face in his shirt when her tears started to fall faster and sobs started to escape her, her body trembling uncontrollably as she made certain to muffle her sobs and was able to feel Georg stroking her back in a comforting fashion. His quiet shushes reached her ears after a few moments had passed and as she grasped his shirt in her hands and listened to them, she began to calm herself down somewhat.

'There we go…' Georg whispered before kissing the top of her head.

Once her sobs had reduced to little hiccups she pulled back from his chest, a tearful giggle escaping her when he reached up to wipe the mascara from her cheeks. 'We are going to get you a glass of Scotch when we get back to Hede's to help with your shaking and then we're leaving with the children. We don't know if Zeller managed to get anything out of Tobias, Maria, and if he did then we need to act awfully fast.'

'I'd rather we just leave as soon as we get back.' She whispered. 'I want to go now.'

'Alright.' He kissed her forehead. 'Come on, let's go and get you in the car.'

She allowed him to wrap her in his arms again then, her eyes falling shut as she laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled closer him. She had never seen a deceased person before in her life, not even when her mother and father had died, and seeing Tobias on the floor like that had shocked her to the core. He hadn't deserved that.

As she allowed Georg to continue leading her out of the thicket of trees and back to the car, she knew that she wouldn't be able to spend another night in Switzerland.

She wouldn't be able to spend another _hour_ in Switzerland.

She needed to leave _now._

* * *

It was quite late that night when she was lying on her side in bed in the sleeping car of the train that was taking her, her husband and children to Italy, her hand resting next to her head on her pillow whilst she stared at the wall and thought back on the events of that day. How had a day that had begun so perfectly ended so tragically?

Not even twelve hours ago, Tobias had been congratulating her and Georg after the two of them had revealed that she was expecting and now he was lying dead in a shack. She wished that he had approached her and told her that he was planning on going back there before he had left; she and Georg could have gone with him but stayed in the car. They might have been able to do something if he had come to her.

There was no point in wishing now, however, because Herr Zeller had murdered him for helping her to escape and return to Georg and - as her husband had said to her earlier - there was nothing that could be done for him now. She was unable to stop thinking about his poor mother, as well. The woman had no idea that her son had been killed and who was going to tell her? Herr Zeller surely wouldn't be the one to.

Everything had gone so, so wrong.

The one thing that had managed to bring a smile to her lips when she had boarded the train with Georg and their children two hours ago had been knowing that the nine of them were safe and no longer at risk of being discovered by Zeller. Knowing that made her happier than she could say, despite what had happened earlier on.

When she felt the all-too-familiar twisting within her stomach she laid her hand on it, but instead of grimacing as she usually would, she smiled as she knew that her child was growing beneath her palm. 'I love you so much, little one.' She told it even though she knew that it wouldn't be able to hear her for another several months.

When she began to feel a little cold she pulled the covers further over herself before snuggling down beneath them and closing her eyes. The delicate rocking motion of the train began to lull her into slumber after a few minutes, but when she heard the sound of the door to the car that she was in open, she opened her eyes once again.

She shared a smile with her husband when she rolled over under the covers and met his gaze, a sigh leaving her when she drew the covers back for him and let him slide into bed beside her. 'How are the children?' She asked whilst shuffling into his arms once he had gotten settled and opened them to her, her head landing on his chest.

'They're alright.' He kissed her on the crown. 'Marta and Gretl took longer to nod off than the others, but they're sound now and I think they'll manage to sleep for the rest of the night.' Maria nodded against his chest before tilting her head back on it.

'Today didn't go exactly as we had planned, did it?' She sighed.

He shook his head when she moved her own head to his shoulder. 'No, it didn't.'

'I can't get the image of Tobias out of my head.' She shuddered. 'It was so horrible.'

He ran his fingers through her hair for a few seconds before giving her a peck on the forehead. 'You shouldn't have had to see that.' He said. 'I should have gone in first. If I had done, I could have prevented you from having to see it. I'm sorry, my darling.'

'You don't have to apologise to me.' She reassured him whilst tracing the line of his collarbone with her fingers. 'You couldn't have known that we were going to come across him like that, Georg, and if you did I know that you wouldn't have let me see.'

Georg gave her a little squeeze before smiling when she cuddled up to him and gave his neck a kiss. 'This time tomorrow, we're going to be tucked up in bed in a villa in Italy and we won't have to worry about being discovered by Herr Zeller. You and our children are going to be safe and warm, and nothing makes me happier than that.'

'Not even this?' She smiled into his neck when she grasped his free hand in her own and brought it to her stomach, a surge of warmth coursing through her when she felt him stroke his thumb against where their unborn baby was growing within her.

'This makes me _just _as happy.' He admitted. 'Our baby is going to be so beautiful.'

'What would you like to have?' She raised her brow. 'A little boy or a little girl?'

He massaged her waist through her nightgown. 'I don't care as long as it's healthy.'

'Me either.' She whispered.

When Georg turned his head in her direction and saw how exhausted she looked, he drew the covers further over her before turning off the lamp that was sat atop the table beside the bed. 'Try to get some sleep.' He left several kisses over her hairline.

'You won't let go of me, will you?' She mumbled as she buried her face in his neck.

'Never, my darling,' He told her as their train continued on down the track, 'never.'

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading this chapter! This fanfiction is nowhere near the end which means - unfortunately - that the von Trapps do run into some more trouble and struggle with a couple more things before settling down in America, but you'll be glad to know that Zeller is no longer in this fic! I hope that you'll all continue to follow this fic and it would mean the world to me if you left a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter. See you all next time :-)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: I actually updated! Hope you all enjoy! x**

* * *

It was late the following morning when Georg was lying in silence between his wife and Marta, his arms wrapped around his little girl's waist whilst she slept with her head on his shoulder and her fingers curled into his nightshirt. She had woken him by pulling back the quilt and clambering into bed with him in the early hours of that morning and he had realised, when she had hid her face in his chest and her sniffles had reached his ears, that she had suffered from another night terror.

He hadn't had the heart to make her go back to the sleeping car that the other children had been in and so, after winding an arm around her waist and holding her close to him, he had pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and ran his fingers through her hair until she had succumbed to the clutches of slumber again. It had taken him quite a while for him to go back to sleep after that, but knowing that Maria and Marta had been sleeping well had managed to put a smile on his face.

As he lay between them now, he knew that he would have to wake them soon. The train would be arriving in Italy in just under an hour which meant that, if they and the others got dressed fast enough, they would have just enough time to walk down to the breakfast car and get something to eat. He laid in silence with Marta in his arms for a short while longer before bringing a hand to her head and stroking her hair, a sigh escaping him when he brushed a slow kiss against her brow.

'Rise and shine, sweetheart…' He whispered against her skin whilst his fingers combed through her hair, Marta murmuring in protest as she snuggled further into his warmth and nuzzled his neck. He felt her slide her small feet under his legs and his heart swelled with love for her. Whenever he had laid with her when she had been a baby she had slipped her feet beneath his legs and the fact that she still did it made him love her more than he could admit. 'We're almost in Italy now.'

After a few minutes she pulled back from the side of his neck and allowed her head to rest on his shoulder again, the two of them sharing a smile when her eyes flickered open and she glanced up at him. 'Father?' She began to rub at her left eye with the back of her hand before she let out a yawn. 'Are we still being followed? Are Herr Zeller and the Nazis still looking for us?' She asked.

'No,' He shook his head whilst keeping his voice low so not to disturb Maria who was still snoozing behind him, 'we're not being followed anymore, darling. Herr Zeller might still be searching for us, but I promise you that he won't be able to find us.' He smoothed one of his hands over her hair a final time before taking her hand in his and lifting it to his lips to peck the back of it delicately. 'Now, why don't you pop next door and wake your brothers and sisters whilst I wake your mother?'

She nodded her response before pressing her lips against his cheek and sliding her hand out of his, Georg watching her with a smile as she pulled back the quilt and climbed out of bed. 'Will we be able to have breakfast on the train, father? I've never had breakfast on a train before!' She asked him once she had gone over to the door that led out of the sleeping car, Georg chuckling quietly.

'If you and the others hurry up and get dressed, then yes we can.' He nodded.

The happiness was evident on her face before she pulled the door open and stepped out of the car, a look of happiness etched into his own features once she had closed the door behind her and he had turned over to face his wife. Maria was still sound asleep on her back, one hand resting beside her head on her pillow as the other rested on her stomach through the quilt and she let out soft snores. The urge to reach out and caress her face with his hand was too intense for him to ignore.

He ran the back of his hand down the side of her face before using his fingers to trace the line of her jaw, his eyes holding nothing but love for her when he drew back his hand after reaching her chin. There was an expression of pure contentment on her face and he couldn't express how happy that made him. After being made to watch her sleep fitfully with frown lines between her brows every night when they had been in the mountains, it was a relief to finally watch her sleep deeply.

Once he had lain in silence beside her for a few minutes longer he shifted closer to her and rested his hand over hers on her stomach, his eyes drifting closed as he pressed his lips to her forehead in a simple kiss. He peppered light kisses over her forehead and face for a little while after that, a smile appearing on his lips when she began to stir under his lips. She arched her back to stretch the stiff muscles in it once he had stopped kissing her face, her eyes flickering open seconds later.

'Hello.' He brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear.

'Mmm…' She sighed before allowing him to press a kiss onto her lips, 'hello.'

He grazed her nose with his before shuffling back from her, resting his head on his own pillow and stroking her face. 'We need to start getting dressed.' He said to her. 'We'll be arriving in Italy in around…' He checked the watch that was on his wrist, 'forty-five minutes and so, if we don't take too long, we'll have just enough time to go down to the breakfast car and get something to eat.'

Maria hummed before running a hand across her belly. 'What's the plan for when we get to Italy?'

'First, I'm going to rent a car.' He admitted. 'Then, I'm going to drive you and the children to the villa that Agathe and I used to stay in whenever we traveled to Italy. I bought it a few months before Liesl was born, but we didn't use it much. There are a few servants there, but there aren't as many as there were back in Salzburg. There's a butler, a housekeeper, two housemaids, a cook and there's one stable hand.' He took her hand in his. 'The villa's small, but we'll be comfortable.'

After moving closer to him beneath the quilt and resting her head on his shoulder, Maria gave him a kiss on the cheek. 'I don't care how small the villa is, darling. The main thing is that we're all safe and we aren't at risk of being found by Zeller and the Nazis.' She smoothed her hand across his chest before smiling when he turned his head towards her and stroked her short hair gently.

'I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you, you know.' He sighed. 'You're incredible.'

'I didn't do much.' She replied.

'You did far more than you think.' He shook his head. 'Far more.'

The two of them smiled before she tilted her head back against his shoulder and left a kiss to his lower lip, a tired sigh escaping her when she pulled back from him and pushed herself up into a sitting position. 'I'll go and see if the children are awake. Would you find me a dress and a pair of stockings out of my case, please?' She smiled, Georg nodding his reply whilst stroking her back.

She then wriggled out from beneath the covers before shifting down the bed, standing from it and walking over to the door that led out of their sleeping car. Georg climbed out of bed himself once she had closed the door behind herself and pulled both of their suitcases out from underneath the bed, a sigh leaving him as he opened them and began to search for something for them to wear.

He would miss Salzburg, of course he would. He would miss the beautiful villa that he had brought Agathe home to after their honeymoon; the villa that he and Agathe had raised their children in, but he knew that he would always have the memories that the two of them had created. This was a new chapter in his life. He had remarried, he had a baby on the way and he was so, so happy.

Everything that his beautiful Agathe had told him, on her dying day, that she had wanted for him.

* * *

Maria let out a sigh when she was perched on the edge of the settee in the library of Georg's villa a few hours after lunch, her gaze focused on Marta's dress as she continued to sew up a hole in it. She, her husband and their children had arrived at the villa just before lunch and she had fallen in love with it the moment she had clapped eyes on it. It was a great deal smaller than the one back in Salzburg, as her husband had told her on the train that morning, but just as breathtaking.

It was no wonder so many people rented it when Georg wasn't using it.

Once she and the rest of the family had introduced themselves to the new butler - a rather young man who had replaced the old butler after he had retired - Georg had led her by the hand to the bedroom that the two of them would be sharing for the next month. It had been clear to her that Agathe had had the upper hand when decorating the master bedroom - the wallpaper was a floral pattern along with the bedding - but it was so precious and she adored everything about the room.

After taking in the sight of the bedroom she had told Georg that they had had to start unpacking, but apparently that had fallen on deaf ears. She had barely managed to open her suitcase before his arms had been around her middle from behind and his lips had been shifting over her neck, his fingers easing the buttons on the front of her dress through their respective holes before he had turned her in his embrace and caught her in a dizzying kiss. He had such a way of distracting her.

Needless to say, it had been quite some time before any unpacking had gotten done.

As she sat alone now, she smiled at the memory of him holding her to him after their lovemaking.

When the sound of footsteps approaching the library reached her ears she lifted her gaze from the dress in her lap and smiled as she watched her husband walk into the room. He reciprocated her smile as he approached her, a surge of warmth coursing through her when he lowered himself into the space beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist. 'Where are the children?' She asked him when he pressed his lips to the side of her head, his hold of her tightening as he drew back.

'Liesl's resting upstairs, Louisa's reading in the family room and the others are playing outside.' He admitted whilst stroking her waist through her dress, Maria nodding as she shifted closer to him whilst pulling the sewing needle through the fabric of Marta's dress once more. She then took hold of the scissors that were on the armrest before snipping off the excess thread and letting out a sigh of relief, Georg chuckling as she set their daughter's dress down and snuggled up against him.

He combed his fingers through her hair before kissing the top of her head. 'Tired?' He murmured.

'A little.' She replied. 'I thought I was never going to get that blasted hole sewn up.'

The two of them chuckled together before she draped her arm across his stomach and settled into his warmth, his hand leaving her waist so that he could rub the small of her back. 'I've got a bit of a surprise for you.' He admitted once they had sat in silence for a time, her head moving to his shoulder before she lifted her gaze to his and looked into his eyes with a perfect sparkle in hers.

'What is it?' She asked with a smile.

He unwrapped his arm from around her waist and slipped his hand into hers before entwining their fingers. 'Come with me.' He told her before he rose from the settee and she did the same, Maria stroking his knuckles with her thumb as he led her out of the sitting room. The two of them then walked through the foyer and up the staircase, Georg attempting to hide his excitement from his wife as he knew that she was going to love what he was about to show her. He knew her so well.

It was a few minutes later when the two of them came to a stop in front of a door, Maria looking up into his eyes with a suspicious expression on her face. 'Go on.' He chuckled as he gestured to the room with his head, a slight smile appearing on her lips when she wriggled her hand out of his and rested it on the doorknob. After turning it and opening the door she walked inside the room, her eyes growing wide as she gasped at seeing the numerous beautiful instruments in front of her.

'This,' She heard her husband say into the shell of her ear once he had come to stand behind her, wrapped his arm around her middle and snugged her back against his chest, 'was Agathe's music room.' Her eyes fell closed when he turned his head to kiss the area of silken skin just behind her ear, his thumb drawing circles against where their unborn baby laid within her. 'Now it's yours.'

She turned in his arms before resting her hands on his chest and allowing him to hold her against him. 'Mine?' She almost whispered as she stroked the front of his chest and gazed into his eyes.

'Yours, my love.' He kissed her forehead.

'But why?' She asked him. 'What are you giving it to me for?'

He slid one hand up her back until he was able to stroke her hair. 'I remembered how you told me during our engagement that - when your parents died - you never really had something that you could call your own. When we were at Hede's I made a telephone call to the butler here. I told him to get the housemaids to clean in here and uncover everything so I could surprise you with it.'

'Oh, darling, thank you.' She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

He pressed his lips to her crown a number of times before stroking her back. 'You're so welcome.'

The two of them remained in their embrace for a time before she lifted her head off of his chest, cupped the side of his neck in the palm of her hand and went up onto her tiptoes to thank him again with a kiss. Once their kiss had ended she slipped from his embrace and walked over to the piano. 'You can make changes in here if you would like to.' Georg told her. 'It's your room now.'

She shook her head as she turned to face him after playing a chord on the piano. 'On our wedding day I told the children that I would never try to replace their mother and I remember telling you, when we were on our honeymoon, the same thing. This was Agathe's room before it was mine and I don't want to change everything about it just because she isn't here anymore.' She said gently.

After walking back to him she slipped her hands beneath his jacket and rested them on the small of his back. 'It's like when you tried to hide the photograph of you and Agathe on your wedding day in the drawer of your desk when we got back from Paris. I don't want you putting things that remind you of her in drawers and I don't want to change anything about a room _she_ decorated.'

Georg smiled at her as he ran his fingers across her cheek. 'She would have loved you, you know.'

'I hope so.' She returned his smile. 'I also hope that she would think you made the right decision.'

He lowered his head to graze her nose with his. 'There's no doubt in my mind.' He reassured her.

He rested his hands on her waist when he straightened up once again.

'Now,' He said, 'how about we go downstairs and join the children in the garden?'

'I thought you were never going to ask.' She giggled.

The two of them laughed together before he brushed her lips with his, slid one of his arms around her waist, drew her close and began to lead her out of her music room. As she snuggled against him and allowed him to guide her down the staircase and through the foyer towards the door that led to the back garden, she couldn't help but smile as she knew that things would be fine now.

For the first time, her life was perfect.

* * *

As he combed his fingers through Brigitta's hair whilst she slept with her head in his lap when he was sat on the settee in the drawing room a few hours later, Georg sighed. She had come to him and Maria complaining of a headache and a sore throat a little over an hour ago and so he had let her have a cuddle on the settee with him whilst Maria had gone to find her some medicine. Even though she had complained of it tasting revolting she had taken it, but it hadn't done much at all.

He had suggested that she laid down next to him and closed her eyes some time ago, wondering if her headache had been caused by stress and tiredness, but now that she had come down with a fever he knew that she was unwell. To be honest, she had been quiet and had seemed a little pale when they had gotten off the train that morning, but she hadn't complained and so he had just brushed it off. It'd been stupid of him to forget that she had always been one to minimise things.

After stroking another strand of her hair back behind her ear he leaned down to leave a warm kiss to her cheek before settling back into his cushion again, a gentle smile forming on his lips when she sighed in her sleep. It was hard for him to come to terms with the fact that his little girl was turning into a young woman. Gone was the small four year old who had had to sleep in between him and her mother so that she would be away from the "monsters" after she'd had a nightmare.

He could still remember how, whenever he had come home on leave for a few weeks when she had been a baby, she had screeched with excitement at the top of her lungs at seeing him since she had been unable to speak. The memory of Agathe stroking her hair and shushing her between soft giggles whilst he had greeted Kurt, Louisa, Friedrich and Liesl still prompted him to chuckle now. She had always been such a father's girl and that was one of the things he loved most about her.

'How is she?' He looked up from her when the sound of his wife's voice reached him, his affection for her growing stronger as he watched her walk into the drawing room with a small bowl of cool water in one hand and a face cloth in the other. When she sat down on the edge of the settee, ensuring that she was mindful of Brigitta's legs, she placed the bowl down and soaked the cloth.

'Her temperature's risen.' He said after pressing the back of his hand to their daughter's forehead.

Maria took the cloth out of the bowl of water before wringing it out, bending to place the bowl on the floor and turning to Brigitta. 'This should help to bring it down a bit.' She said to Georg, the two of them smiling before she folded the face cloth and pressed it lovingly to Brigitta's forehead. The ten-year-old stirred beneath her touch before she shushed her and ran the back of her free hand down her cheek, relief flooding through her when her daughter drifted back into her slumber.

She patted her forehead with the cloth a number of times before soaking the cloth again, wringing it out and pressing it to the underside of her jaw and to her neck. 'You've had to do this before, haven't you?' Georg said when he turned his head in her direction, Maria giving him a nod in reply.

'Twice.' She admitted. 'I was nine the first time. Uncle cut himself whilst working out on the farm one time and it must have gotten infected because he ended up getting Tetanus. The doctor gave him medication to help clear it up and gave me the Tetanus vaccine, but it was left to me to take care of him and to keep the farm going until he was well again.' She told him, pressing the cloth against Brigitta's cheek. 'He kept on telling me to stop being a nuisance when I did this for him.'

Georg scoffed. 'I would have left him to take care of himself.'

'The thought did cross my mind a number of times,' She admitted with a small giggle, 'but it was only two months after my mother and father died and I thought that - if I didn't look after him - he would die as well. He might have put me through things that no child should ever have to be put through, but - believe it or not - I dreaded the thought of going back to the orphanage more than I dreaded the thought of having to live with him until I was old enough to leave.' She sighed.

Knowing that her mind was becoming filled with images of her childhood, Georg reached out to run a hand over her hair and bring her back to him. 'When was the second time you had to do this?' He asked her in order to change the subject, a smile appearing on her lips when she gazed at him.

'A few weeks after I entered the convent.' She revealed. 'Some of the Sisters had come down with the flu and because I was trying to...earn...my right to stay there in a way, I insisted that I took care of them. The Reverend Mother had had it the worst and so I did this for her more than I did it for the others. She was the only one who didn't see me as a pest, I think.' She smiled at her husband as she leaned back against the settee. 'Caring for her was what helped us both to bond.'

'To me, it was as though she saw you as more of a daughter than she did a friend.' He said.

Maria nodded as she took one of Brigitta's hands in hers and swept her thumb over her knuckles. 'And I saw her as more of a mother than I did a superior figure. I think we both knew how we felt about each other, but religious sisters aren't really supposed to have affection for one another and so she couldn't tell me that she loved me and I couldn't tell her, either.' She said to him.

'I'm sure she knew though, darling.' He smiled.

'Yes, she did.' She smiled back at him. 'We never had to use words to tell the other how we felt.'

'Just like us.' He hummed as he kissed the side of her head before she shuffled closer to him.

'Yes,' She laid her head down on his shoulder, 'just like us.'

They fell into silence for a time then, Maria closing her eyes as she snuggled into his warmth and listened to the sound of Brigitta's snores. When she felt her daughter begin to stir, however, she opened her eyes and looked down at her. 'Mmm...mother?' The ten-year-old ran her hand through her hair when she turned onto her back and looked up at her, Maria stroking her cheek tenderly.

'What is it, sweetheart?' She asked.

'I'm cold.' Brigitta told her.

Georg brushed her hair out of her face before she turned her head in his lap and looked up at him. 'Why don't you go upstairs, get changed into your nightgown and go to bed? You'll be far comfier and warmer there than you will be down here.' He pointed out to her as he held her a little closer.

'He's right.' Maria nodded when their daughter looked at her again.

'Will you come up and cuddle with me, mother?' Brigitta asked her. 'Please?'

Maria and Georg shared a smile. 'Of course I will, precious.' She reassured her before standing from the settee and watching Brigitta push herself up into a sitting position. Brigitta then pressed her lips to her father's cheek before running a hand through her hair again, rising from the settee and taking her mother's hand. 'I'll lie with her until she's asleep and then I'll be back.' She revealed.

'Take as long as you like.' He said as he crossed one leg over the other.

Maria felt her heart swell with love for him before she felt Brigitta lie her head on her upper arm and snuggle against her. 'Come on, you,' She dropped a kiss to her crown, 'let's go and tuck you into bed.' She then began to lead her out of the room, Brigitta lacing her fingers with hers whilst the two of them walked through the foyer and towards the stairs which led to the second floor.

'Mother?' Brigitta sighed as they walked along the corridor to her bedroom.

'Yes?' Maria replied.

'Thank you for marrying father.' She said. 'I'm so glad you're our mother and not the Baroness.'

'Oh, Brigitta, you -'

'I know I shouldn't say it, but I mean it.' The ten year old lifted her gaze to her, her voice hoarse due to her sore throat. 'If you hadn't had come back then father would have made the Baroness his wife and none of us would have been happy. She was going to send us all to boarding school!'

Maria's brow creased. 'What? How do you know that?'

'I overheard her talking to uncle Max about it on the day you came back.' She sighed. 'Do you see what I mean? She didn't love us at all, but you _do_ and that's why I'm glad father asked _you _to marry him and not _her. _Even if she hadn't sent us to boarding school, she wouldn't be doing _this. _She wouldn't be coming to snuggle with me because I'm feeling ill and you _know_ she wouldn't.'

Maria couldn't argue with that.

She knew that Elsa wouldn't have come within five feet of the children if they had been unwell.

'I love you, mother, and you're the only mother I ever want to have.' Brigitta told her gently.

'You darling girl.' Maria whispered before drawing her daughter close and holding her to her chest.

After wrapping her arms around her waist and curling her fingers into her dress, Brigitta rested her head on her chest and sighed as her scent surrounded her. 'You're never going to go away again, are you? Not even for a night?' She asked with hope in her voice as she allowed her eyes to close.

'Never.' Maria shook her head before kissing her crown firmly. 'You're all stuck with me now.'

The two of them laughed together before Brigitta lifted her head off of her chest, gave her a light smile and rose up onto her tiptoes to kiss her cheek. 'You're so tired, my lovely.' Maria sighed as she looked into her eyes and was able to see the exhaustion that was living within them. 'Let's go and get you changed and into bed. You're not going to feel any better until you get some sleep.'

Brigitta nodded before her mother wrapped her arm around her and began to lead her to her room, a sigh escaping her as she leaned her head against her shoulder and buried her face in her neck.

She truly was - in her opinion - the best mother in the whole world.

* * *

'We should do something with the children at some point.' Maria said when she was settled in the arms of her husband late that night and her head was resting on his chest, her eyes half-lidded with contentment as she could feel him smoothing his hand back and forth over where their child was developing within her. 'They all deserve to have some sort of treat after the last few days.'

'We could take them all to Sperlonga for the day on Friday if you would like.' He suggested whilst drawing her further into his embrace. 'It's quite a long drive - about three, four hours - but the beach is beautiful. Agathe and I went there many times before the children came along.' A loving smile graced his features when Maria tilted her head back on his shoulder and gazed up at him.

'I've never been to a beach before.' She admitted.

'You haven't?' The surprise was evident in his eyes and it made her giggle.

She shook her head whilst stroking his chest hair. 'Paris was the first time I ever left Austria.'

Georg sighed as he stroked her face.

His darling Maria had missed out on so much.

'All the more reason to go, then.' He tightened his hold of her before kissing her. 'Brigitta should be well again by then if she gets enough rest, and I'm sure the children will enjoy themselves.'

'Not just the children.' She told him before draping her arm over his stomach and hooking her leg over his hip to anchor herself to him. 'I love it here, you know, everything is just so beautiful.'

She felt him kiss her hairline. 'Mmm...yes, it is.' He mumbled.

'You are _such_ a charmer.' She rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

'Complaining?' He smirked as he brushed his thumb against her stomach.

'Never.' She whispered before leaving a number of kisses to the side of his neck.

She yawned after a couple of seconds and laid her head down on his chest before turning her face into his throat and settling down when he reached to switch off the lamp, a hum of satisfaction leaving her when she felt him cover her further with their covers and run his hand along her back. 'Get some sleep, my love,' He whispered into her hair, 'you've had such an exhausting day today.'

'I love you, Georg.' She sighed as she rested her head on his chest again.

'I love you too, Maria.' He gave her a tender squeeze whilst settling down with her. 'So, _so_ much.'

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading this chapter and - as always - please let me know what you thought with a review if you have the time. See you all in chapter nine! :) x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I know that it has been over a month since I last updated this fic and I apologise for that! I hope that this chapter is good enough for you all though and happy reading!** x

* * *

As he put his collar down once he had tied his tie a few mornings later, Georg gazed over at his wife and sighed. Maria was still sound asleep on her front, her hand buried under her pillow as she released gentle snores and some colour was beginning to come back in her cheeks. He knew that she had had a dreadful night. If it hadn't been her nightmares waking her up it had been her morning sickness and he knew that she was beyond tired.

He had decided against waking her up for breakfast. He would just ask Cook to warm her breakfast up for her later on. Once he had slipped his arms into his jacket and buttoned it up, he approached the bed before sitting down on the edge of it and running one of his hands over his wife's hair. She was caught in such a deep sleep that she didn't even stir under his caress as she usually did and he smiled at knowing that she was resting at last.

'I love you.' He murmured into her ear after leaning down to kiss her cheek before giving the skin just beneath her ear a kiss and drawing back, a sigh escaping him when he got up from the bed and pulled the quilt further over her. He then watched her rest for a few moments longer, revelling in her beauty, before walking over to the bedroom door and slipping out into the hallway. He shut the door gently behind himself so not to rouse her.

He began to walk over to the staircase so that he could head to the dining room and have breakfast with the children, his lips curling up into a smile when Brigitta walked out of the bedroom that she was sharing with the other girls and met his gaze. He paused at the top of the staircase and waited for her to reach him before he descended the stairs, his arm wrapping itself around her middle as he leaned into her to kiss the side of her head.

'You look better.' He said whilst the two of them walked together.

'I _feel_ better.' She admitted. 'I don't have a headache anymore and my nose isn't running.'

'I'm glad.' He stroked her hair.

She snuggled into his warmth then before her head found his shoulder. 'Is mother going to be having breakfast with us this morning, father?' She inquired as she looked at him.

'Not this morning, no.' He shook his head. 'She had quite a bad night, so I've let her sleep.'

Brigitta nodded before the two of them entered the dining room and smiled at the others in advance to walking to their seats and sitting down. Brigitta sat down between Marta and Gretl, as usual, and Georg sat down at the head of the breakfast table before the eight of them began to eat. Georg took a sip of his coffee after a time, but as he did he caught sight of Liesl casting a wary look over at Fino, their new Butler, as he stood in the corner.

He glanced over at the young man himself and saw that he was looking back at Liesl, but when Fino realised that he was looking over at him he took his eyes off of her instantly. After taking his eyes off of the Butler he turned to Liesl before resting a hand on her arm, prompting her to look at him. 'Is everything alright, darling?' He asked, his voice gentle.

'Of course, father.' She nodded with a smile.

'Then what was that about?' He raised his brow at her.

She sighed in response. 'Fino and I had a little dispute yesterday. That's all.' She told him.

'As long as that's all it is.' He replied. 'You know you can always come to me, don't you?'

'Yes, I do.' She smiled. 'Thank you, father.'

As the two of them went back to eating, Georg couldn't help but feel as though there was more to the story than Liesl was revealing. He knew, however, that she was like him. If he or anyone else tried to get her to open up when she wasn't ready, they wouldn't get a thing out of her. They had to wait until she came to them and told them about it.

So that was what he was going to do.

* * *

'I was about to come up and wake you.' Georg said as he got up from the chair at his desk in his study once Maria had entered the room and closed the door behind her later that morning, his wife giggling in response as he walked over to her before he brought one of his hands to rest on her hip and the other one on her cheek in order to guide her into a slow kiss. The two of them sighed as their kiss lingered for a few seconds before ending.

'I didn't mean to sleep the whole morning away.' She admitted whilst wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest, her eyes drifting closed of their own accord when he brought his hand to her hair and started to stroke the short strands of it,

'You had an awful night.' He said before kissing her head. 'You needed it, my darling.'

She tilted her head back on his chest to meet his gaze after a few seconds and she smiled when he traced her jaw with her fingers. 'I think I'm going to call doctor Rossi and see if I can make an appointment with him later on.' She admitted as she held him close to her.

'You're not worried about the baby, are you?' He asked whilst stroking her back.

She shook her head. 'No, I just want to go and see him to see if he can give me something to help with the morning sickness. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have him give me the once over, either, just to be on the safe side.' She and Georg smiled before he pecked her brow.

'Do you want me to drive you there?' He raised his brow.

'If you wouldn't mind.' She replied. 'I know you're busy at the moment.'

'Your health and the health of our baby will always mean more to me than work.' He gave her cheek a stroke with the backs of his fingers before lowering his head to kiss her lips. 'It won't take me too long to finish up here, either.' He told her after gesturing to his desk.

She smiled before rising up onto her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. 'I'm going down to the kitchens to get a cup of tea. Should I bring you one up?' She raised her brow at him.

'Please.' He chuckled. 'I haven't had anything since breakfast.'

She giggled before unwrapping her arms from around his middle, taking his hand in her own and giving it a gentle squeeze. 'I'll be back in a minute.' She said to him before they let go of the other's hand and she turned on her heel to leave his study and walk down to the kitchens whilst he walked back over his desk and sat down in his chair once again.

It was around ten minutes later when Maria returned to his study with two cups of tea in her hands and the two of them smiled when she placed his cup of tea down on the desk before walking over to the small settee and sitting down on it. Once she had set his down in front of him he caught her wrist, his thumb stroking the inside of it as his thank you.

Once he had released her wrist she walked over to the settee near the door and sat down on it before bringing her legs up onto it and reclining back against one of the cushions. She looked over at him as she took a sip of her tea and her brow furrowed when she saw that there was something on his mind. 'What is it?' She asked with a raise of her brow.

'It's nothing.' He shook his head.

She sighed in response. 'Darling, I may not have been your wife long, but I've known you long enough to know when something's bothering you.' She reminded him. 'You should know by now that you can tell me anything.' She watched him leave his desk with his tea after a couple of seconds before smiling at him when he started to approach the settee.

'I'm concerned about Liesl.' He admitted after sitting down beside her.

'We both are.' She reminded him.

'I'm not just worried about her because of that.' He gave her knee a gentle stroke through her skirt. 'I...I don't trust that Fino.' He watched a crease appear between Maria's brows.

'How come?' She inquired. 'He seemed nice enough to me when we arrived.'

He was quiet for a moment. 'I caught him staring at her during breakfast and I could tell that she was uncomfortable. I asked her if there was something wrong and she told me that she and Fino had had an argument yesterday. I'm honestly not sure if I believe her.'

'I don't want you to work yourself up about this.' She told him. 'It's probably nothing.'

'And what if it isn't?' He looked her in the eye. 'What if something is wrong?'

Maria rested the hand that wasn't holding her teacup on his cheek and brushed his skin with her thumb. 'Then the truth will come out.' She said. 'It always does at some point.'

He allowed himself to relax beneath her touch. 'You're right. I think I'm just over tired.'

'No-one can blame you for that.' Her hand left his cheek. 'You've done so much since the nine of us left Salzburg and you're not sleeping too well, either.' She caressed his arm.

'I've got a lot on my mind.' He groaned whilst leaning back against the settee.

'I know,' She leaned with him before resting her head on his shoulder, 'and I'm sorry.'

He wrapped an arm around her middle and pecked her forehead. 'I'll get past it in time.'

'Well, I'm always here if you need me.' She reminded him.

'I know you are,' He tightened his hold of her and smiled, 'and I'm so, _so_ grateful for you.'

* * *

Maria smiled with a sigh of happiness as she left the bedroom that she and Georg shared and walked down the corridor towards the staircase that afternoon, her hand resting on her stomach through her blouse whilst she brushed her thumb against it. Her visit to the doctor had gone better than she had thought it would. Both she and the baby were okay.

Doctor Rossi had listened to the baby's heartbeat and had given her some pills that were supposed to help make her morning sickness a little more bearable. She hoped with all her heart that the pills worked their magic and kept her from feeling so sick all the time.

When she reached the top of the stairs she began to ascend them in order to go and find the children, but before she could reach the bottom of them she paused at the sound of the back door slamming. She turned her head in the direction of the sound before a sigh left her as she watched Liesl lean against it and press her fingers softly against her lips.

Even though she wasn't standing next to her she saw a tear scroll down her cheeks and so she walked down the stairs, her brow creasing as she approached her and saw that there was a small scratch on her cheek. 'Liesl?' She kept her voice quiet so not to startle her daughter as she got closer to her, Liesl sniffling when she looked up into her eyes.

'Mother.' Liesl forced a smile.

'Sweetheart…' Maria's concern grew when her daughter flinched as she rested her hand on her arm, 'is everything alright?' She inquired as she took a slight step closer to her.

Liesl nodded. 'Everything's fine.'

'Liesl, you know that you can tell me anything,' Maria almost whispered, 'don't you?'

'Of course I do, but everything's fine.' Liesl replied.

Maria brought her hand to her cheek before stroking the open cut and feeling her heart sink when Liesl sucked in air through her teeth. 'What happened?' She looked at her.

'I wasn't paying attention and a...a branch caught me.' Liesl admitted. 'Stupid, really…'

Just as Maria opened her mouth to say something else, the other door opened and Fino walked inside from the garden. At seeing the two of them he offered them a smile and said: 'Good afternoon, Baroness.' He then looked right at Liesl. 'Good afternoon, Milady.'

'Good afternoon, Fino.' Maria nodded with a slight smile of her own.

After swallowing the tears that were rising in her throat, Liesl said: 'Good afternoon.'

She was certain that he smirked at her before he walked off.

'Are you sure that you're alright, darling?' Maria rested her hand on Liesl's arm again.

'Yes, mother.' Liesl told her. 'May I go upstairs now, please?'

Maria sighed. 'You can. Remember, we're eating at seven tonight instead of eight.'

After pressing a kiss onto her cheek, Liesl offered her a small smile. 'I'll remember.'

She then stepped past her and walked across the foyer and up the stairs to her bedroom, Maria turning in place as she sucked on her lower lip and the concern for her daughter was evident in her eyes. Georg had been right earlier. It definitely seemed as though she was troubled about something, but was it anything to do with Fino? She wasn't certain.

She knew that Liesl wouldn't speak to her if she pushed her.

She knew that pushing her would just make her close up more.

She would just have to be patient and wait for her to come to her on her own terms.

No matter how difficult the waiting was going to be.

* * *

'What's the matter?' She heard Georg ask as his head rested on her chest and she ran her fingers through his hair in the aftermath of their lovemaking late that night, his fingers dancing along the dip of her side underneath the sheets whilst she held him in her arms.

'What makes you say that?' She replied after kissing the crown of his head a few times.

He moved his head to her shoulder so that he could look up into her eyes before holding her a little tighter. 'You're...quieter...than usual.' He said before kissing her jaw tenderly. 'Sweetheart, you told me earlier that I can tell you anything. The same goes for you, too.'

She sighed as she looked up at the ceiling for a couple of seconds before she turned her head in his direction to look into his eyes. 'Do you remember how you told me that you were worried about Liesl earlier on? How you were worried that something was amiss?'

'Yes.' He nodded.

'I...I think you were right.' She admitted. 'I think that Liesl's...scared...about something.'

'But what?' His brow creased.

She shrugged. 'That's what I've been trying to figure out for most of the afternoon.'

'I don't want you to be worried.' He stroked her waist. 'You've been through enough since we left Salzburg and too much stress isn't good for you or for our baby, Maria. I promise that I'll talk with Liesl tomorrow and see if I can get her to open up to me, but until then I don't want you to upset yourself about this.' He kissed her sweetly on the lips. 'All right?'

'All right.' She reassured him.

When he saw the tiredness in her eyes he reached up to trace the line of her jaw with his fingers, a smile gracing her features as she brushed his hair out of his eyes. 'You look so tired.' He told her. 'How do you feel about switching off the lights and getting some rest?'

'Yes, please.' She replied before reaching to turn off the lamp that sat on her nightstand.

Once Georg had rolled away from her to turn off the lamp on his nightstand she shuffled into his arms and rested her head on his chest before tangling her leg with his beneath the covers and draping her arm across his stomach. 'I love you.' She heard him murmur.

'I love you too.' She whispered into the darkness.

'Goodnight, my love.' He gave her one last squeeze before settling down to sleep.

'Goodnight, Georg.' She turned her head to kiss his chest. 'Pleasant dreams…'

* * *

**Author's Note: Thank you all for taking the time to read this chapter and I hope that you enjoyed. I hope that you'll also drop me a review to let me know what you thought because you all know I LOVE reviews! See you all next time :-) x**


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